HEALTH

Health Facilities (Eastern England)

Kerry Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for (a) new diagnostic and treatment centres and (b) new acute hospitals in the eastern region of England.

Stephen Ladyman: By 2005 there will be a further four new Treatment Centres in the eastern region of England providing services for NHS patients. In addition further investment is being made in expanding NHS hospital services at four main sites.

National Service Framework forLong-term Conditions

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the progress made in preparing a national service framework for long-term conditions.

Stephen Ladyman: We are making good progress in developing the national service framework for long-term conditions which will focus on improving services for people with neurological conditions. We plan to publish the framework in December 2004 for implementation from 2005. Only yesterday, I met the Chairs of the External Reference Group to discuss progress, and I expect to receive final advice from the group in the spring.

Children's Hospices

Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to change the amount of NHS funding allocated to children's hospices.

Stephen Ladyman: National Health Service funding is available through negotiation between children's hospices and primary care trusts, which are responsible for funding health care for their resident population. There are no limits to the amount of funding which may be provided; this is for local decision.

Benzodiazepines

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement regarding guidance issued to doctors concerning the prescribing of benzodiazepines.

Rosie Winterton: Guidance on the prescribing of benzodiazepines is provided in the British National Formulary, which is sent to all doctors within the National Health Service and on the Internet at Electronic Medicines Compendium. The guidance has been reiterated in the Chief Medical Officer's Update dated January 2004 which announced the Department's intention to introduce instalment dispensing of benzodiazepines to minimise access to extensive doses.

Obesity

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how he plans to combat obesity in school children.

Melanie Johnson: The Government takes the issue of tackling obesity in children very seriously. Prevention is the best long-term approach, by improving diet and promoting physical activity. Strategies are being developed through the Food and Health Action Plan that promotes healthy diet and the Activity Co-ordination Team that promotes physical activity.

Obesity

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to tackle obesity through increasing physical activity.

Melanie Johnson: Together with my right hon. Friend the Minister for Sport, I chair the cross-Government Activity Co-ordination Team, which is preparing a delivery plan on how the Government will increase physical activity in England. We aim to publish a consultation document on physical activity proposals in April as part of the Public Health White Paper consultation process.
	I have also commissioned 10 Local Exercise Action Pilots across England, which are currently under way. These will evaluate a range of different methods—and establish which are most effective—in driving up sustained physical activity rates across the population.

Domiciliary Care

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on domiciliary care.

Stephen Ladyman: The Domiciliary Care Agencies Regulations 2002 and National Minimum Standards for Domiciliary Care came into force on 1 April 2003. People using domiciliary care services are protected for the first time by a regulatory framework.
	Progress on the target to increase by March 2006 the number of those supported to live intensively at home to 30 per cent. of all those being supported at home or in residential care, is encouraging. The percentage has risen by nearly two points from 27.2 per cent. to 29 per cent. in 2002–03.

Tertiary Treatment Costs

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the cost of travel and accommodation for (a) patients undergoing tertiary treatment and (b) their relatives or carers.

Rosie Winterton: Patients eligible under the NHS Low Income Scheme are entitled to full or partial reimbursement of their costs to hospital under the Hospital Travel Cost Scheme. The transport costs of an escort may also be reimbursed, but not the cost of accommodation, or any cost associated with relatives.

General Practitioners

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the provision of out-of-hours general practitioner services.

John Hutton: Primary care trusts are working with general practitioners and other organisations to develop out-of-hours services that meet national quality standards and local needs. With more direct control over the way these services are commissioned and provided they will be able to ensure they are better integrated with other unscheduled care services.

Trauma Consultants

Tony McWalter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the number of trauma consultants needed by the NHS in 2010; and how many such consultants there were on the latest date for which figures are available.

John Hutton: As at 30 June 2003, there were 1,396 consultants in trauma and orthopaedic surgery, an increase of 32 per cent. since September 1997. We are planning to increase trauma and orthopaedic consultant numbers by a further 9 per cent. between March 2004 and March 2006.
	The national health service will continue to plan, for three-year periods, its future workforce requirements and steps will be taken to address the identified need.

Hospital Star Ratings

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the future of the star rating system for hospitals.

John Hutton: From April 2004, the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection will take over the responsibility for performance rating the national health service. It will be up to CHAI to determine what form performance assessments will take in the future.

Crohn's Disease

Harry Barnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of bone marrow treatment for those suffering from Crohn's disease.

Stephen Ladyman: While we welcome new developments that improve our understanding of distressing conditions like Crohn's disease, we would need to see a rigorous scientific and clinical analysis of this particular procedure, and its outcomes, before we could judge whether it was suitable for NHS patients with Crohn's disease.
	The assessment of new treatments is a gradual process. Evidence from clinical trials may suggest that a new treatment is effective. Further research is then undertaken to provide substantive evidence around issues like long-term safety, before moving to the implementation stage. We have to await evidence provided by the medical and research community before we implement new procedures and treatments.

Ambulances

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provison is made for ambulance drivers to receive (a) initial and (b) refresher training; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: National health service trusts are responsible for ensuring that their staff are suitably trained and qualified to perform their duties. Ambulance staff employed on emergency driving duties receive initial driving training, are required to satisfy proficiency standards and to receive periodic refresher training to maintain proficiency in accordance with a national syllabus and standards.

Ambulances

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has published on the vision levels that ambulance drivers need to achieve and on how frequently they should receive eye checks.

Rosie Winterton: Through its occupational health service each national health service trust is responsible for setting and monitoring staff health standards—including eyesight—and for ensuring that they conform to driver licensing requirements and relevant occupational health guidance.

Ambulances

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what standards of driving test ambulance drivers are required to meet; and what the failure rate was in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: Ambulance drivers are required to hold the driving licence appropriate to the class of vehicle they drive and to undertake training and an assessment as part of their initial and refresher training. Information on success or failure rates is not held centrally.

Ambulances

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the guidelines published by his Department on the disciplinary code for ambulance drivers.

Rosie Winterton: Each national health service trust is responsible for developing, adopting and implementing an appropriate disciplinary code for its staff.

Ambulances

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what disciplinary measures are taken against ambulance drivers who are involved in road accidents.

Rosie Winterton: It is the responsibility of each national health service trust to investigate any accidents, alleged failure or misconduct on the part of its staff and where necessary to instigate disciplinary action in accordance with its local procedures.

Ambulances

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many ambulance drivers in the NHS have not received additional driver training; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: We are not aware of any specific instance of a national health service ambulance driver having failed to receive suitable driving training.

Ambulances

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date specialist ambulance driver training became mandatory.

Rosie Winterton: The mandatory requirement is that ambulance drivers are required to hold the driving licence appropriate to the class of vehicle they drive. In addition, ambulance drivers engaged on emergency duties should undertake specialist driver training in an accredited driving school as part of the basic ambulance training course. This requirement has been in place since 1968, when the responsibility for ambulance services rested with local government.

Ambulances

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many accidents involving ambulances there were (a) in total and (b) involving fatalities, in each year since 1997 in (i) England and (ii) each ambulance trust; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Information on accidents involving ambulances is shown in the table. Figures for each individual ambulance trust are not collected centrally.
	
		Accidents involving ambulances, by severity: England, 1997–2002
		
			 Severity 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 
		
		
			 Fatal 4 3 7 4 3 5 
			 Serious 35 38 29 37 22 33 
			 Slight 232 282 246 299 278 257 
			 All 271 323 282 340 303 295

Ambulances

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what targets for ambulance 999 calls in rural areas have been set; and what the latest figures for performance against these targets are.

Rosie Winterton: Current ambulance response targets are:
	category A calls—presenting conditions which may be immediately life-threatening and which should be responded to within eight minutes irrespective of location in 75 per cent. of cases;
	category B calls—presenting conditions which, though serious, are not immediately life-threatening and should be responded to within 14 minutes (urban) and 19 minutes (rural) in 95 per cent. of cases;
	category C calls—presenting conditions which are not immediately life-threatening or serious but should also be responded to within 14 minutes (urban) and 19 minutes (rural) in 95 per cent. of cases; and
	urgent cases—in addition to emergency 999 calls, ambulance services are required to take patients to hospital where the need is identified by a doctor as urgent and these patients should arrive at hospital within 15 minutes of the arrival time specified by the doctor in 95 per cent. of cases.
	Information about performance of ambulance trusts is published annually in a statistical bulletin. The latest data are in "Ambulance Services, England: 2002–03". A copy of the bulletin is available in the Library and on the Department's website at: www.doh.gov.uk/public/sb0313.pdf

Cataract Operations (Kent)

Jonathan R Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cataract operations will be carried out in Kent in financial year 2003–04.

John Reid: The Kent and Medway Strategic Health Authority plan to provide a total of 11,084 cataract operations this year in Kent. As a result, the maximum waiting time for cataract operations in Kent will be down to six months by 31 March 2004—a year-and-a-half ahead of the NHS Plan target.

Child Social Work Team (Gatwick Airport)

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the progress of proposals to fund a joint unit at Gatwick Airport between immigration officials and members of West Sussex Social Services Child Protection Division.

Beverley Hughes: I have been asked to reply.
	We have not as yet received formal proposals from the local authority on the structure and function of a Children Social Work team at Gatwick. The amendment to section 110 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 allows us to provide funding for special projects of this nature, and we will give full and careful consideration to any proposals from West Sussex once we receive them.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Electoral Pilots

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what the cost of the Electoral Commission report on Electoral Pilots at the June 2004 elections was.

Peter Viggers: I am advised by the Chairman of the Commission that the total cost to it of reporting on the most suitable European Parliamentary regions for electoral pilots at the June 2004 combined European Parliamentary and local elections, as directed by the Government under section 6(2) of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, is estimated to have been approximately £32,000.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal By-Products Regulations

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will place the Department's guidelines on the implementation of the EU Directive on Animal By-Products in the Library.

Ben Bradshaw: Guidance is available on the Defra website at hhtp://defraweb/animalh/by-prods/default.htm.

Animal Welfare

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the proposed new EU regulation on animal transport.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government are seeking measures that result in improved conditions and better enforcement throughout the EU.

Animal Welfare

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether there is a central register of those convicted of cruelty to animals in the United Kingdom;
	(2)  whether there is a central register of those banned from keeping animals in the United Kingdom.

Ben Bradshaw: There is no central register of people convicted of cruelty or who have been disqualified from keeping animals. However, the Department is considering, as part of the proposed Animal Welfare Bill, the introduction of an Animal Welfare Enforcement Database, which would assist in the enforcement of animal welfare legislation in England and Wales. It is proposed that the database would include details of those people who have been convicted and disqualified from keeping animals.

Bovine TB

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the natural predators of the badger are, other than man; and what effect they exert on the United Kingdom badger population.

Ben Bradshaw: Adult badgers have no natural predators, other than man in Britain. It is not unusual, however, for badger cubs to be killed by dogs, foxes and sometimes by adult badgers 1 .
	The impact of non-human induced mortality on the national badger population has not been quantified.
	1 The Handbook of British Mammals (1991). Third Edition. Edited by G. B. Corbet and S. Harris. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.

Bovine TB

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many badgers have been culled in each of the (a) proactive and (b) inactive cull areas in each of the selected trial zones in each year since the trials commenced.

Ben Bradshaw: The Randomised Badger Culling Trial compares 30 areas of 100 km 2 , grouped into 10 triplets. One of the following three "treatments" is allocated to each trial area:
	'Proactive' culling where badgers are trapped and culled at the outset of the trial and at intervals afterwards.
	'Reactive' culling where badgers are trapped and culled from social groups associated with farms which have a confirmed incident of bovine TB during the course of the trial.
	'Survey only' areas where no trapping or culling takes place. Setts are surveyed regularly to check for signs of unlawful removal of badgers. These areas act as a scientific control against which the impact of the two culling strategies can be measured.
	Culling in the reactive areas of the trial has been suspended.
	Details of the badgers culled in the proactive and reactive treatment areas are given in the following table:
	
		Table summary of badgers taken during trial operations to 12January 2004
		
			 Triplet Proactive (P) May 1998 toJanuary 1999 May 1999 toJanuary 2000 May 2000 toJanuary 2001 May 2002 toJanuary 2003 May 2003 toJanuary 2004 Total 
			 or Reactive (R) P R P R P R P R P R P R 
		
		
			 A   55 0 0 34 149 47 52 36 256 117 
			 B 238 0 85 73 74 34 49 84 172 110 618 301 
			 C   246 0 111 178 126 115 132 101 615 394 
			 D   293 0 368 122 661 122 
			 E (1)744 0 96 62 258 126 1,098 188 
			 F 451 0 248 145 103 290 802 435 
			 G 428 0 205 172 144 84 777 256 
			 H 162 0 231 16 71 143 464 159 
			 I   219 0 175 94 394 94 
			 J   441 0 187 0 628 0 
			 Sub total 238  386 73 1,970 246 2,057 641 1,662 1,106 6,313 2,066 
			 Total (P and R) 238  459  2,216  2,698  2,768  8,379  
		
	
	(1) Combined total for initial and follow-up cull completed in the same culling year
	Note:
	No data for May 2001-January 2002 when trial suspended due to FMD

Bovine TB

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what targets have been set for the bovine TB testing of herds in the last five years for which figures are available; how many have been completed; and how long it will take to clear the backlog of required tests.

Ben Bradshaw: The State Veterinary Service has two targets relating to TB testing of cattle herds:
	(a) 95 per cent. of herds to be tested within one month of the due date, and
	(b) 100 per cent. of herds to be tested within three months of the due date.
	The following table details the performance figures for the years where figures are available.
	
		
			  2001 2002 2003(2) 
		
		
			 Number of herds due to be tested 12,207 19,877 15,524 
			 Completed tests within one month of the due date (percentage) 14.5 47.4 78.7 
			 Completed tests within three months of the due date (percentage) 22.7 65.0 92.7 
		
	
	(2) to end September
	The number of tests overdue at the end of December 2003 was 3,623 of which only 163 were more than 12 months overdue (provisional data). This is similar to the number of overdue TB tests recorded before the FMD epidemic.
	The number of overdue TB tests has remained more or less stable since April 2003, with no significant trend up or down. It is therefore considered that the clearance of the backlog of TB tests, which accumulated during the FMD epidemic, has been completed.

Bovine TB

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what budget was set by her Department for each year for all aspects of bovine TB research, testing, culling, compensation, fieldwork and other costs for the last five years for which figures are available; and what the actual spending was in each year.

Ben Bradshaw: Historical information on the budgets originally set for various elements of the bovine TB programme is not readily available and can be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, a breakdown of the actual spend for the last five financial years is shown in the following table:
	
		Expenditure on bovine TB in Great Britain: 1998–99 to 2002–03 -- Expenditure in £000
		
			  1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 
		
		
			 Compensation(3) 3,491 5,303 6,632 9,243 31,146 
			 TB testing 7,247 8,329 8,675 3,571 12,398 
			 Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) and associated research 2,988 4,392 6,630 6,001 6,479 
			 Other research (not including RBCT) 2,541 4,114 5,266 6,112 6,824 
			 Other costs(4) 8,617 9,002 8,996 5,557 17,055 
			 Total (rounded figures) 24,883 31,141 36,199 30,485 73,902 
		
	
	(3) Includes compensation paid for cattle and deer slaughtered as a result of TB control measures.
	(4) Includes State Veterinary Service staff costs and diagnosis carried out by the Veterinary Laboratories Agency.
	Fieldwork costs are included in the expenditure shown for the RBCT and associated research.

Beef Imports

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much beef was not allowed into the country on health grounds in the last year for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: Centrally kept statistics do not provide information to answer the question in the form asked. I can say that in the year 2003, out of 15,294 consignments of imported meat and meat products, derived from cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and horses presented for veterinary checks at Border Inspection Posts in the UK, 215 were rejected for various reasons. It is not possible to say how many were rejected on health grounds as consignments rejected for other reasons—for example, because of incorrect certification or because they did not tally with the accompanying documentation, would not be further checked to see if there were also health problems.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment has been made of the (a) operational and (b) safety impact of including steaming time in the days at sea allowance.

Ben Bradshaw: For vessels using demersal trawls of over 100 mm mesh, the total allocation of days per month is 15, the same as last year, though the total last year included a separately identified element for steaming days. There need, therefore, be no differential impact this year. We do not, however, propose to require vessels to include time lost in life-threatening circumstances at sea (such as going to the aid of another vessel in distress) as part of their allocation.

Fisheries

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the economic impact on the UK retail market of the UK fishing fleet producing a surplus of haddock in the absence of adequate cod supplies.

Ben Bradshaw: Because of the global nature of the markets for the main whitefish species, the impact of such changes is difficult to quantify, since there is no simple relationship between local catch levels and market prices.

Flood Alleviation (Somerset)

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will ensure that the plans by South Somerset District Council for a Merriott flood alleviation scheme (phase 2) receive early approval from (a) her Department and (b) the Environment Agency to enable it to qualify for funding available before 31 March; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: Following the significant flooding in autumn 2000, the Department agreed to consider special cases supported by the Environment Agency (EA) HQ for particularly deserving river defence schemes that did not achieve the priority score threshold for Defra funding. Such schemes still had to meet the other basic criteria for funding. For special case consideration, EA HQ identified criteria that were then not reflected fully in the priority scoring system. On that basis, they supported a number of special cases that the Department accepted in July 2001. Much of the special case criteria was incorporated into the revised priority scoring system that came into effect in April 2003. When notifying details of 2003–04 allocations to flood defence operating authorities in February 2003, officials indicated that, given special cases were identified as urgent following the autumn 2000 floods, the Department would not expect to extend special treatment beyond 2003–04.
	I understand that the South Somerset District Council is urgently seeking the necessary consents from the Environment Agency and English Nature and will then submit an application. The Department will consider the application as swiftly as possible.

Game Licences

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the impact of game licences on (a) the sport of shooting, (b) the quarry species and (c) the environment; and if she will make a statement.

Ben Bradshaw: No assessment has been made of the impact of game licences on the sport of shooting game, the quarry species covered by these licences or the environment more generally.

Poultry Imports

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2004, Official Report, column 1301W, which EU countries ban the import of chickens infected with salmonella; and for what reasons the United Kingdom does not ban salmonella infected chickens.

Ben Bradshaw: holding answer 23 February 2004
	There are no bans as such on imports into EU countries of live chickens or chicken meat because of salmonella. However, European Community legislation stipulates that live chickens intended for breeding or production imported from third countries have to be accompanied by certification confirming that they are from flocks which have been submitted to a disease surveillance programme for salmonella pullorum and salmonella gallinarum
	Live chickens traded between member states must come from flocks that are routinely monitored for salmonella pullorum and salmonella gallinarum. In addition, the chickens must be monitored for salmonella while the birds are in quarantine. Those birds intended for slaughter and destined for Finland or Sweden, must be subject to a microbiological test by sampling in the establishment of origin.
	Chicken meat imported from third countries and destined for Finland and Sweden must be subject to a microbiological test by sampling in the establishment of origin.
	The UK complies fully with European Community rules as outlined above.

Water Supplies

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will list the water supply and urban and rural drainage bodies in England which are companies where a holding company or majority of shareholdings are not of the United Kingdom, stating in each case the country and name of the ultimate owner, together with date of acquisition.

Elliot Morley: pursuant to his reply, 14 January 2004, Official Report, c. 742W
	In my answer I referred to information on Cambridge Water and Folkestone and Dover. This was incorrect.
	The correct information for Cambridge Water and Folkestone and Dover is as follows:
	
		
			 Water only undertakers Ultimate holding companyand where headquarters isbased Date of acquisition 
		
		
			 Cambridge Water plc Union Electricia Fenosa SA (Spain) January 2000 
			 Folkestone and Dover Water Services Ltd. Veolia Environnement (France) Owned since before 1989 
		
	
	The rest of the answer remains correct.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Amendments

Graham Allen: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission if he will ensure that amendments to Bills which appear on the Order Paper are available at the same time on the parliamentary website.

Archy Kirkwood: The timetable for electronic publication of House of Commons documents is based on the recommendation of the Information Committee: that they should be made available as soon as practicable after release to Members. However, it also takes into account the potential cost to the House of moving to earlier publication. Although times of publication have been advanced in instances where this can be achieved at little cost, simultaneous publication is not practicable.
	At the moment marshalled lists of amendments are made available electronically by 12 noon on the day of publication in printed form. Discussions with the House's contractor indicate that this time could be brought forward to 9.30 am without giving rise to substantial additional costs; and this option will be pursued

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Recruitment Advertising

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's expenditure on recruitment advertising was in each of the last three years, broken down by publication; and what proportion of such expenditure was (a) to advertise vacant posts and (b) in the form of other general recruitment advertising.

Hilary Benn: The proportion of our overall advertising expenditure spent to (a) advertise vacant posts and (b) in the form of other recruitment advertising, is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Total advertising expenditure (£) 1,208,190.72 914,571.19 849,196.36 
			 Total spent on advertising vacant posts (£) 836,848.13 702,098.15 746,712.70 
			 Percentage spent on advertising vacant posts 69 77 88 
			 Total spent on other recruitment advertising (£) 371,342.59 212,473.04 102,483.66 
			 Percentage spent on other recruitment advertising 31 23 12 
		
	
	It would involve disproportionate cost for DFID to break down our recruitment advertising expenditure by publication.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Child Murders (Drugs)

Martin Caton: To ask the Solicitor-General whether investigations into the criminal cases in which a parent has been convicted of murdering a child will include an assessment of whether (a) cisapride and (b) other drugs contributed to the deaths.

Harriet Harman: Since the release of Angela Cannings by the Court of Appeal and its published judgment, the Attorney-General has instigated a number of measures. A total of 258 convictions over the last 10 years for the murder, manslaughter or infanticide of a child under two by its parent have been identified. Of those, a total of 72 relate to persons still serving a custodial sentence. These will be accorded the utmost priority. Currently, some 365 boxes of evidence relating to 52 high profile cases have been recovered from central storage and dispatched to CPS areas for them to conduct an initial review. The remaining high profile cases are being recovered from the areas themselves.
	With the help of the Interdepartmental Group a system of review has been established. Each individual case will first be subject to a preliminary review by the relevant CPS Area to identify its key characteristics. Each case will then be reviewed by a central review team to establish whether any features identified by the Court of Appeal in Angela Cannings' judgment make the conviction potentially unsafe. As the review proceeds, the issues in each case will become clearer and the review team will be alert for any factors, including drugs, which were held to have contributed towards the death of an infant.

CABINET OFFICE

Internet

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what is being done to raise levels of internet usage among those sectors of the population whose usage is under the national average, with particular reference to the (a) 55 to 64 and (b) 65 and over age groups.

Douglas Alexander: Opportunities to physically access the internet are now pervasive for all age-groups. Research by the Oxford Internet Institute has found that 96 per cent. of the population are aware of a place where they could get online.
	For those, like some older people, who may need additional support to get online there is a network of over 6,000 UK online centres which offer community-based internet access and training at low or no cost. Last year the 'Get Started' campaign aimed to drive up internet use among key groups such as the elderly, those with disabilities and the unemployed. Of those who responded, 37 per cent. were over 65 and 45 per cent. were retired.
	In addition on 15 December 2003 the Government announced a Digital Inclusion Panel which will advise Government and industry on how to ensure a digitally United Kingdom. Digital connectivity among older age-groups will be one
	area to be reviewed.

Better Regulation

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will list executive board members appointed to promote better regulation, broken down by department; and what their respective private sector experience is in each case.

Douglas Alexander: As of 1 February 2004, the network of departmental board level members for better regulation consisted of:
	
		
			 Board member  
		
		
			 Margaret Aldred Home Office 
			 Alan Davey Department for Culture, Media and Sport 
			 Karen Dunnell Office for National Statistics 
			 Eddie Frizzell Scottish Executive 
			 Paul Gray Department for Work and Pensions 
			 Stephen Haddrill Department of Trade and Industry 
			 Mike Hanson HM Customs and Excise 
			 Dave Hartnett Board of Inland Revenue 
			 Donald Mcrae Department for Environment, Food and Rural affairs 
			 Peter Makeham Department for Education and Skills 
			 Willy Rickett Department for Transport 
			 James Sassoon HM Treasury 
			 Jonathan Spencer Department of Constitutional Affairs 
			 Richard Stagg Foreign and Commonwealth Office 
			 Pat Stewart Food Standards Agency 
			 Hugh Taylor Department of Health 
			 Peter Unwin Office of the Deputy Prime Minister 
			 Jane Willis Health and Safety Executive 
			 Baroness Young of Old Scone Environment Agency 
		
	
	These senior departmental nominees draw on a wide range of experience in advising within their organisation on private sector, public sector and European regulatory issues.

TRANSPORT

A35

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to upgrade the A35 between Dorchester and Honiton.

David Jamieson: There are no current plans for significant upgrading of the A35 between Dorchester and Honiton.

A35

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to improve (a) traffic flow and (b) road safety at Raymond's Hill on the A35.

David Jamieson: The Highways Agency substantially completed a safety improvement scheme at Raymond's Hill last year, which includes new signs, red anti-skid surfacing and two traffic islands. It will prevent overtaking through the junction, help traffic entering or crossing the trunk road and assist pedestrians crossing the road. A reduction of the speed limit to 40 mph is also planned and this proposal has recently been advertised.
	The new scheme will have limited effect on traffic flow but should make a significant improvement to road safety. Its impact will be monitored to see if further measures are necessary.

A404

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  when he will set a date for the resurfacing of the A404 Marlow by-pass;
	(2)  whether the A404 Marlow by-pass meets the criteria for remedial action on environmental grounds to reduce noise pollution.

Alistair Darling: The A404 Marlow Bypass is currently in a satisfactory condition as far as safety is concerned and is not expected to require resurfacing within the next few years. As a result, no date has yet been set.
	However, I can confirm that the A404 Marlow Bypass meets the criteria announced on 22 March 1999 for consideration for remedial action on environmental grounds to reduce noise pollution.

Aviation Security

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions his Department has had with counterparts in the Transport Safety Authority of the US Administration concerning matters of aviation security.

Tony McNulty: Departmental officials are in very regular contact with their opposite numbers in the US Transportation Security Administration, about a range of aviation security matters.

Central Railway

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will investigate the disclosure to the Sunday Telegraph of the Strategic Rail Authority's latest study of the Central Railway proposal; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: It is not the Department's practice to comment on such matters.

Cycling

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will list for each local authority the financial support given by the Department to support cycling proficiency tests in 2003–04;
	(2)  how many cycling proficiency tests were completed last year; and what the pass rates were for those tests, broken down by local authority.

David Jamieson: Local authorities fund cycle training from within their overall resources for transport. We do not hold data centrally on how many cycling proficiency tests are undertaken.
	The Government are supportive of cycle training and our research has shown that it is effective, with trained children found to be significantly safer than untrained children when knowledge and skills were tested two years after training. We want to see an increase in the level, and improvement in the quality, of cycle training for children.
	The Department has been working closely with a number of groups to develop cycle training. With our support 'Guidelines for the management and Operation of Practical Cyclist Training Schemes' were revised and published by RoSPA in June 2000. In July 2001 the Department for Transport and the Department of Health gave grant funding amounting to £76,000 to the Cyclist Touring Club to run a three-year project to develop a cycle training scheme for adults and teenagers. This led to the development of the publication, "Adult Cycle Training—A Guide for Instructors and Organisers", which was launched in May 2003 and sent to all road safety officers. We are also working with a group of cycle training experts to develop a new National Standard for child cyclist training. This will be piloted in schools from April, with a view to a launch later in the year.

Eurotunnel

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport who pays the minimum usage charge paid to Eurotunnel.

Tony McNulty: The Minimum Usage Charge (MUC) is a top-up mechanism that assures Eurotunnel of a minimum income from Eurostar and rail freight services for the first 12 years of commercial operations. It is a contractual commitment to Eurotunnel by the French and UK railways currently operating through the Tunnel. For the UK, Eurostar UK Ltd. is responsible for all payments relating to passenger services, and the Strategic Rail Authority currently makes the payments for freight services. On the French side, the payments are made by SNCF.

Infrastructure Improvement Schemes (Lancashire)

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the infrastructure improvement schemes in (a) Lancashire and (b) Chorley; and what their projected cost is.

Kim Howells: The Chorley Transport Interchange opened in March 2003 at a cost of £2,500,000. Work is currently under way improving Chorley Railway Station at a cost of £309,000. Details of other local transport infrastructure schemes and projected costs are set out in the Local Transport Plans and Annual Progress Reports, published by Lancashire County Council, Blackpool Borough Council and Blackburn-with-Darwen Borough Council.
	Additionally, both Chorley and Lancashire will benefit from the £7.5 billion West Coast Mainline route modernisation programme that is currently under way.
	Details of infrastructure improvement schemes for the motorway and trunk road network in Lancashire, including projected costs during 2003–04, are set out in the following table.
	
		Highways Agency: Infrastructure Improvement Schemes
		
			 Category/Scheme Description 2003–04 Full Year Forecast (£000) 
		
		
			 Safety Improvements  
			 M6 Preston Signage and Road Markings, Junctions 30 to 32 145 
			 M6 Road Markings 31 
			 A585 Thornton Roundabout Improvements 127 
			 A585 Thistleton Junction Improvements 178 
			 Safety Improvements—Minor Schemes 178 
			   
			 Congestion Easing  
			 A585 Singleton Crossroads 33 
			   
			 Renewal of Roads  
			 M6 North of Junction 34 to 35, Carnforth 3,632 
			 M55 Broughton Crash Barriers 1,710 
			 M6 Junction 32 Broughton Electric Cabling for Road Signs 219 
			 Minor Capital Maintenance 670 
			   
			 Renewal of Bridges and Structures  
			 M6 Three Pinned Concrete Footbridge 298 
			 M6 Forton Service Area Piers 26 
			 M6 Golden Fleece 10 
			 M6 Carnforth 800 
			 M6 Occupation Bridges Bailtons 3 
			 M6 Occupation Bridge Mount Pleasant 100 
			 Block Allocation for other Bridge Schemes 455 
			   
			 Accessibility Improvements  
			 Improvements for Pedestrians, Cyclists and Horse Riders 35 
			   
			 Tourism Signage  
			 M6 Strategic Tourism Signing 300 
			   
			 Total 8,950

Road Safety

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what reports from judges the Government have received in relation to concluded cases of failure to stop after a road crash.

Christopher Leslie: I have been asked to reply.
	Failing to stop after an accident is a summary offence and as such it would normally be dealt with at a magistrates' court. Judges would not therefore deal with such offences unless they were committed for sentence to the Crown Court together with an indictable or triable either-way offence. My Department does not hold data centrally relating to reports from Judges who sat on particular cases.

Road Resurfacing

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the latest criteria for prioritisation of resurfacing of roads are.

David Jamieson: The criteria for the prioritisation of resurfacing flexible trunk roads are related to the condition of the surface. The combined assessment of levels of rutting, surface crack intensity, unevenness, skid resistance, the general wear of the surface material and the frequency of accidents associated with the surface condition, is used to determine the programme for resurfacing. The aim is to maintain the trunk road network using the principle of minimising whole life costs, taking account of disruption to the road users and the need to keep the road in a safe and serviceable condition.
	On concrete roads, priorities for dealing with the most pressing cases of traffic noise have been established as set out in the Secretary of State's announcement to the House on 1 April 2003, and these will be progressed as funding allows.

Road Resurfacing

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the criteria for categorisation of sites for each level of noise reduction road resurfacing programmes; and what the effect of each categorisation is.

David Jamieson: Categorisation of sites for low noise surfacing is primarily based on maintenance need. In addition, we have criteria for categorisation for noise reduction of roads with concrete surfaces. I announced these criteria on 17 October 2001; they are:
	1. that wherever possible the application of quieter surfaces will fit in with normal maintenance needs;
	2. that priority will be given to those sites where treatment would benefit the greatest number of people;
	3. that the works will be carried out in such a way as to minimise disruption to general public and users of the network;
	4. that priority will be given to roads, opened since June 1998, where actual noise levels have turned out to be significantly higher than predicted at the time of Public Inquiry.
	Priority is given to road surfaces that are deteriorating and to locations where road safety is an issue. Where the resurfacing is specifically for noise reduction purposes priority will be given to those cases in which the actual noise levels exceed those predicted by at least three decibels, or where more than 100 properties per kilometre are effected by excess noise.

Road Resurfacing

Andrew Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what change there has been in estimated costs of resurfacing the M1 between junctions 20 and 21 since the initial announcement; and if he will make a statement.

David Jamieson: Final cost details for resurfacing of the Ml between Junctions 20 and 21 will not be available until current investigations by the Highways Agency are completed. It was initially anticipated that part of this section of the Ml would be resurfaced in 2004 but Value Management assessments have shown that other areas of the network need to be given higher priority. The assessments demonstrated that better value for money would be obtained by undertaking more work than simply resurfacing, although this would result in increased capital cost.

Rolling Stock

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) actual and (b) percentage increase in power supply is required to operate an eight-car new third-rail train compared with its slam-door predecessor, assuming no change in average speed; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: At lower speeds the new trains are more efficient. At higher speeds–up to 75mph–the traction draw is higher. The power draw for the new trains travelling at up to 75mph is capped at 1500 amps. For Mark I trains the draw is 750 amps. In percentage terms, a Siemens Class 450 Desiro train draws 39.6 per cent. more traction power than a Mark I train. A Bombardier Electrostar Class 375 draws 35 per cent. more traction power than a Mark I train.

Shipping

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2004, Official Report, column 1235W, if he will introduce primary legislation to revise the eligibility criteria for the scheme; and what discussions his Department has had with representatives of seafarer trade unions concerning alterations to the Crew Relief Costs Scheme.

David Jamieson: Primary legislation will be introduced when Parliamentary time is available. The proposed extension of the Crew Relief Costs Scheme was discussed with members of the Shipping Working Group, including seafarer trade unions, when the policy outlined in the White Paper "British Shipping: Charting a New Course" was being developed.

Shipping

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2004, Official Report, column 1242W, if he will make a statement on the progress made towards implementing the actions contained in "British Shipping: Charting a New Course"; whether it is his policy to implement all the actions in the paper; and when his Department will conclude the implementation of these actions.

David Jamieson: The Government's shipping policy is stated in the White Paper "British Shipping: Charting a New Course". Some of the actions are on-going and so will not have a date by which they will be completed. It is therefore not possible to issue a timetable showing when the implementation will be concluded. An update of the current status of the 33 actions from "Charting" has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Snowfall Measures

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidelines his Department issues for local authorities in respect of measures to deal with snowfall.

David Jamieson: The Department for Transport strongly recommends that local highway authorities carry out winter maintenance in accordance with the Code of Practice for highway maintenance, "Delivering Best Value in Highway Maintenance", which was published in July 2001.

Speed Cameras

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding his Department has provided for each speed camera partnership in England and which partners are involved in each partnership.

David Jamieson: Eight partnerships, six in England, trialled the safety camera cost recovery scheme from April 2000 to March 2002. A further seven (six in England) joined during 2002.
	Funding for the camera activities of the Safety Camera Partnerships in England, met from conditional fixed penalty fines for speeding and red light offences, for 2000–01 and 2001–02, is as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 2000–01  
			 Cleveland 771,901 
			 Essex 1,846,480 
			 Lincolnshire 512,721 
			 Nottingham 622,371 
			 Northants 1,702,404 
			 Thames Valley 1,825,639 
			 Total 7,281,516 
			   
			 2001–02  
			 Cleveland 486,891 
			 Essex 3,003,763 
			 Lincolnshire 516,818 
			 Nottingham 778,536 
			 Northants 2,247,838 
			 Thames Valley 2,617,031 
			 Cambridgeshire 113,760 
			 Derbyshire 455,659 
			 Lancashire 761,017 
			 Norfolk 433,100 
			 Staffordshire 629,246 
			 Warwickshire 355,068 
			 Totals 12,398,727 
		
	
	Information on the Partnerships' expenditure for 2002–03 is being prepared and will be published shortly.
	Safety Camera Partnerships comprise representatives of the police force (or forces), local authorities and Magistrates' Courts Committees for the areas concerned. Some Partnerships also include representative of the Highways Agency and local Health Authorities.

Speed Cameras

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his oral answer of 3 February 2004, Official Report, column 616, how many people were (a) killed and (b) seriously injured in the three years prior to the establishment of camera sites in the Christchurch constituency, and how many have been (i) killed and (ii) seriously injured since, in respect of each of the camera sites.

David Jamieson: holding answer 23 February 2004
	My Department does not hold statistical information broken down by Parliamentary constituency areas. The hon. Member may wish to contact the Dorset Safety Camera Partnership for more detailed information.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces Retirement Age

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria are in place to determine the (a) minimum and (b) maximum armed forces retirement age; and if he will make a statement.

Ivor Caplin: The question of retirement procedures is a complex one as each of the Services have their individual regulations and, indeed, within each Service retirement criteria can vary considerably depending on factors such as length of service, rank and professional specialty. In addition, the introduction of the Three Tier Commission (short, medium and full) in April 1999 and such initiatives as the Common Terms of Service for medical officers mean that the already complex situation is exacerbated as the legacy rights of personnel serving before the introduction of these schemes have to be taken into consideration. However, in order to offer some indication of the minimum and maximum retirement ages the following can be used as a generic guide. Further more detailed information can be provided on specific cases if required.
	There is no standard minimum retirement age as personnel can leave at various points after enlistment. However, in general terms, to receive an immediately payable pension officers would have to serve a minimum of 16 years from the age of 21 (37), whilst non-commissioned officers would have to serve a minimum of 22 years from the age of 18 (40). Personnel who leave too early to receive the immediately payable pension may be entitled to a preserved pension, based on their length of service, which is payable at the age of 60.
	The normal maximum retirement age is 55 but again this can vary depending on factors such as seniority and professional specialty. For example, a Medical Officer in a senior position could stay in post until the age of 65. It should also be noted that any individual may have their service extended beyond their normal retirement age if to do so would be of mutual benefit to the Service and the individual.

Consultation Documents

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the individuals and organisations to whom (a) his Department, (b) its executive agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible sent a copy of the consultation document, "The Future of the Defence Diversification Agency".

Ivor Caplin: The Consultation Document "The Future of The Defence Diversification Agency" was published on 8 February 2001. I have placed a list of the individuals and organisations which were sent a copy of the document in the Library of the House.

Defence Estates Core Sites

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Defence Estates Core Sites Report of March 2003 will be published.

Ivor Caplin: It is not our intention to publish the list, which is a working document and subject to constant detailed revision as the department undertakes further work to clarify where estate rationalisation may be possible. Any specific proposals arising from these studies will be subject to proper announcement to the House and full consultation.

Iraq

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what measures United Kingdom forces have taken in the area of Southern Iraq under British control to ensure no weapons of mass destruction, their components, relevant explosives or contaminants are smuggled out of Iraq.

Geoff Hoon: Specific searches for WMD are the responsibility of the Iraq Survey Group, although UK forces routinely conduct a range of anti-smuggling operations as a part of continuing security operations in the UK area of responsibility in Southern Iraq. UK forces are also involved in training Iraqi border officials.

Missile Defence Technology

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his answer of 19 January 2004, to the hon. Member for Hereford (Mr. Keetch), Official Report, column 920W, if he will make a statement on the conclusions of the research projects funded by his Department, the Longer Range Threat, BMD studies and the Capability Gap Work; and if he will place reports relating to these projects in the Library.

Geoff Hoon: We keep the threat posed by ballistic missiles to the United Kingdom and its deployed forces—and the best means of countering this threat—under constant review. An unclassified summary of the Technology Readiness and Risk Assessment Programme referred to in my answer of 19 January to the hon. Member for Hereford Official Report, column 920W has already been placed in the Library. However, much of our work in this area must remain classified. The Longer Range Threat and the Capability Gap Work programmes, together with the Ballistic Missile Defence studies, form part of our new Ballistic Missile Defence programme, and no unclassified summary of this work is available.

Nuclear Weapons

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the estimated costs of plans to upgrade nuclear weapons design and production facilities at Aldermaston are; how much has been allocated for this upgrade; and what the timetable is for its completion.

Geoff Hoon: The refurbishment and replacement of older facilities, and the decommissioning of those no longer required, is a continuing programme of work at AWE to meet safety, regulatory and operational requirements. We made clear in paragraph 3.11 of the Defence White Paper published in December (CM 6041–1) that we will take appropriate steps to ensure that the range of options for maintaining a nuclear deterrent capability is kept open until we need to take decisions on whether to replace Trident.
	The costs of the continuing programme are included in the overall incentivised price of the 25-year AWE Management and Operation contract. The precise timing, scope and cost of all the investments required over the 25 year period have yet to be finalised with the AWE contractor. The total cost of operating AWE for the current financial year is expected to be of the order of £310 million.

SCOTLAND

Benefit Fraud

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many staff in his Department have been (a) suspended, (b) dismissed, (c) prosecuted and (d) convicted for involvement in benefit fraud in each of the last six years; and what the amounts involved were in each of the cases listed.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Since that date no disciplinary action or prosecutions have taken place against staff for involvement in benefit fraud.

Census Records

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland in which years each of the 1851 to 1901 decennial censuses of population for Scotland were released for public inspection; and if he will make a statement on the timetable for release of the 1911 census records for Scotland.

Anne McGuire: The General Register Office for Scotland (GRO(S)), an associated department of the Scottish Executive, is responsible for carrying out periodic censuses of Scotland's population.
	The Scottish Census returns for 1841–71 were opened to public inspection in 1923. The returns for 1881 and 1891 were opened to public inspection, though with some restrictions on copying, in 1955. The records for 1901 were opened to public inspection at the end of 2001.
	I understand the returns for 1911 will not be opened to public inspection until 2011.

Civil Servants

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much space, expressed in square metres, the Office occupies for the offices of civil servants in (a) central London and (b) Greater London.

Anne McGuire: The Scotland Office occupies 1,857 sq m of Dover House in central London. The remaining space in the building is shared between a number of other Departments; the Scottish Executive: 320 sq m, Scottish Development International: 57 sq m and other parts of the Department for Constitutional Affairs: 111 sq m.

Ministerial Travel

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last used a train in connection with his ministerial duties.

Anne McGuire: The Secretary of State regularly travels by all modes of public transport. My right hon. Friend last travelled by train in connection with his ministerial duties on 2 February.
	All ministerial travel on official business is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in "Travel by Ministers".

Security Passes

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many security passes have been reported (a) lost and (b) stolen by staff in his Department in the last 12 months.

Anne McGuire: Staff of the Scotland Office have reported one security pass as stolen and four as lost in the last 12 months.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Gift Aid

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations her Department has received from (a) the museum and (b) the heritage sectors in relation to introducing Gift Aid tax relief (i) in writing, (ii) in meetings and (iii) in any forms since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: Such information as is available about the representations this Department has received from the museums and heritage sectors since 1997 in relation to Gift Aid tax relief is provided below. These relate to the changes to the Gift Aid Scheme announced in the Pre-Budget Report (Cm 6042).
	Written representations have been received from The Charleston Trust, Chatham Historic Dockyard, Bronte Society and Dulwich Picture Gallery, Mr. G. Lovewell Blake and R. P. Heyworth.
	In addition representatives from the following representative bodies and associations and DCMS sponsored bodies attended a recent meeting arranged by the Department with Inland Revenue officials to discuss the implementation of the proposed changes: Association of Independent Museums, Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions Ltd, Chatham Historic Dockyards Trust, ECSITE-UK, English Heritage, Historic Royal Palaces, Millennium Commission, Museums Association, National Maritime Museum, North of England Zoological Society, Visitor Attractions Forum, Zoological Society London.
	The Government are consulting closely with charities that might be affected by changes to the Gift Aid legislation announced in the Pre-Budget Report, through their associations and representative bodies, on the detail of how the change may be best achieved.

Ministerial Visits

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the ministerial visits (a) she and (b) her Ministers have made in the last 12 months.

Richard Caborn: I am arranging for a list of visits made by DCMS Ministers in the past 12 months to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Railway Carriages

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations she received concerning the campaign to retain Wagon-Lits railway carriage 2757 in the UK prior to its purchase by Dutch interests; and when, and how, the matter was first raised with her Department.

Richard Caborn: holding answer 23 February 2004
	My right hon Friend the Secretary of State did not receive any representations concerning the campaign to retain the Wagon-Lits railway carriage 2757 in the UK prior to its purchase by Dutch interests in November 2003. The first representation received by the Secretary of State was a letter from the hon. Member for East Surrey (Mr. Ainsworth), on behalf of a constituent.

Recruitment Advertising

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her Department's expenditure on recruitment advertising was in each of the last three years, broken down by publication; and what proportion of such expenditure was (a) to advertise vacant posts and (b) in the form of other general recruitment advertising.

Richard Caborn: The department's expenditure on recruitment advertising in 2002–03 and 2003–04 to date is shown as follows. Equivalent information for 2001–02 is no longer available.
	2002–03: £59,922
	2003–04: £51,349.
	All expenditure is linked to the advertising of vacant posts. A breakdown of expenditure by publication is not recorded. However the Department will typically advertise senior posts in the Guardian and/or Times, and, where appropriate, in specialist publications (e.g Accountancy Age, Museums Journal). More junior posts are advertised in the local press.

Tobacco Advertising

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent representations she has received from motorsport interests in connection with the cessation of tobacco advertising.

Tessa Jowell: I have received one representation from the motorsport industry relating to the ban, seeking clarification of the EU Directive. It is not a matter for DCMS and I have referred the query to the Department of Health.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum/Immigration

Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is Home Office policy to resist applications for adjournments of asylum cases where applicants prima facie fall within the amnesty.

Beverley Hughes: Home Office policy, generally, is not to oppose applications for adjournments of asylum appeals when asked for a view by Adjudicators in cases where applicants may fall for consideration under the indefinite leave to remain exercise announced by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 24 October 2003.

Asylum/Immigration

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what plans he has to make provision for children who are not offered temporary residence but whose parents are;
	(2)  what factors underlay the decision to grant non-British citizens longer stays in the UK than their children.

Beverley Hughes: It is our usual policy to grant dependent children leave to enter or remain in line with that of other parents or carers. As all applications are considered on their individual merits, there may from time to time be cases where a different period of leave is granted. There is no category of temporary residence under the Immigration Rules and there are no plans to introduce one.

Asylum/Immigration

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers were resident in Glasgow in the last year for which figures are available.

Beverley Hughes: The information is not available in the form requested.
	Statistics on the location of asylum seekers in the UK are linked to the available information on the support that the asylum seeker receives. Asylum seekers currently in the UK are either in receipt of support from the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) or from local authorities, or are supporting themselves. Statistics regarding the location of asylum seekers not in receipt of NASS support are unavailable.
	The table gives quarterly data on the number of asylum seekers supported by NASS in Glasgow.
	
		
			  In NASS accommodation In receipt of subsistence only support from NASS 
		
		
			 December 2002 5,665 140 
			 March 2003 6,070 140 
			 June 2003 5,885 140 
			 September 2003 5,730 125 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest five.

Asylum/Immigration

Jonathan R Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he intends to track the outcomes of unaccompanied children returned under the new pilots to ensure that the return is in the best interests of the child; and what he will do if the assessment of the child's circumstances suggests that removal places him or her at risk.

Beverley Hughes: The returns programme is still in the early stages of development. The programme will include a monitoring and evaluation strategy. A child/young person will only be returned under the programme after an individual assessment has been made on their suitability for return. This assessment will be made in partnership with local authority Social Service Departments and will include a judgment as to whether a return is in the child's best interests and whether the child/young person faces any risk on return.

Asylum/Immigration

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the current backlog of cases is at each directorate of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate.

Beverley Hughes: At the end of December 2003, the latest date for which published data are available, the number of asylum cases awaiting an initial decision had continued to fall, to 24,500, the lowest level for a decade, and 40 per cent. lower than at the end of December 2002 (41,300). The number of initial decisions continues to exceed the level of applications. The speed of decision making is at record levels with initial decisions made and served within two months on 80 per cent. of applications 1 received in April to September 2003.
	In October 2001 my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary announced a package of measures to improve the asylum process. Part of this package was to reduce the number of outstanding asylum cases to a steady state of work in progress. In order to do this the Immigration Appellate Authority (IAA) and the Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) expanded their capacity to process asylum appeals from 4,000 to 6,000 asylum appeals a month by November 2002. These increases, added to other successes in reducing the asylum intake, have meant that the number of outstanding asylum appeals is now reducing down to frictional levels.
	A record 81,725 appeals were determined by adjudicators in 2003, more than a quarter (27 per cent.) higher than in 2002 (64,405). The number of appeals determined by adjudicators in Q4 2003 was 22 per cent. higher than Q4 2002 (from 16,615 to 20,285). As a result, the number of asylum appeals lodged with the Home Office which had not been sent to 12,000, 60 per cent. lower than at the end of December 2002 (30,000). A proportion of asylum appeals lodged do not result in appeal bundles being sent to the IAA.
	The available information on the number of cases dealt within is given in the Home Office Annual Report 2002–03, copies of which are available from the Library.
	Information on the number of asylum cases awaiting an initial decision and on the number that had not been sent to the IAA is published quarterly on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate web site at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
	1 excluding withdrawals and third country cases.

Asylum/Immigration

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passports in the care of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate for the processing of applications have been (a) lost and (b) stolen in each of the last five years.

Beverley Hughes: Information dating back to 1998 for each of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate's (IND's) buildings is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. For the period 1 April 2003 to 31 January 2004, IND processed 451,974 applications. For the same period, 694 Loss of Passport Letters were issued. This represents 0.15 per cent. of applications received.
	A range of measures including the setting up of secure handling areas and the early return of sponsors' passports have been put in place to improve IND's ability to find and return documents at the time of requests.

Asylum/Immigration

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the maximum length of time is that a child has been detained in (a) Dungavel, (b) Tinsley House and (c) Oakington.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 29 January 2004
	Information on the maximum length of stay of people resident in Immigration Service Removal Centres is not available and could be obtained only by examination of individual case-files at disproportionate cost.
	Information on the number of people detained solely under Immigration Act powers at 27 December 2003 is due to be published on 24 February in the Asylum Statistics: 4th Quarter 2003 publication on the Home Office website: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

Asylum/Immigration

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was imposed in fines on (a) airlines and (b) other carriers for transporting illegal immigrants in the last year for which figures are available.

Beverley Hughes: Separate records are not kept of charges relating to air carriers only.
	During 2003 the total demanded of all carriers under the Immigration (Carriers' Liability) Act 1987 and under Section 40 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 was £7.55 million. These charges relate to persons arriving in the United Kingdom without the required documents. Such charges may arise where persons arrive with genuine passports but do not have the required visa, where they arrive with forged documents or impersonate the rightful holder of a document or where they arrive with no document. In the majority of cases the persons concerned are classified as inadequately documented passengers, rather than illegal entrants.

Cannabis

Bill Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the benchmark street price for cannabis used when calculating the value of seizures by his Department was in each of the last five years; what changes have been made to this figure in the last six months; and what the reasons for those changes were.

Caroline Flint: According to data collected by the National Criminal Intelligence Service the UK average street price for cannabis has been as follows over the last five years.
	
		£ per ounce
		
			 As at December Herbal Cannabis Cannabis Resin 
		
		
			 1999 89 100 
			 2000 82 85 
			 2001 80 77 
			 2002 83 81 
			 2003 72 66 
		
	
	In August 2003 the figures were £74 and £66. We are not aware of any other changes in recent months.

Correspondence

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Manchester, Central dated (a) 16 September 2003 re: Mrs. MG, references PO14031/3 and G1057225/2 and (b) 29 October 2003 re: Mrs. FA, references 0/988549 and A544430.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 12 February 2004
	The information is as follows:
	(a) I wrote to my hon. Friend on 12 February 2004.
	(b) The Immigration and National Directorate (IND) wrote to my hon. Friend on 19 February.

Crime (Havering and Romford)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps are being taken to reduce levels of youth crime in the London Borough of Havering.

Hazel Blears: The Government are supporting a wide programme to tackle youth crime in all areas to prevent children being drawn into crime in the first place, with more targeted initiatives focusing on those young people most at risk, supported by effective youth justice interventions to reduce reoffending.
	The programme in Havering sees a number of agencies, including the Youth Offending Team, the police, education, health, housing, community safety, and the youth service working together to reduce youth crime in the borough, by supporting a range of preventative and diversionary schemes. Specific programmes include the Positive Activities for Young People programme targeting young people during the school holidays; the London Connexions Truck which visits venues on a two-week basis to provide intensive outreach work with young people at risk; the introduction of a Youth Inclusion and Support Panel to target those eight to 13-year-olds most at risk of both offending and anti-social behaviour; a dedicated outreach worker to provide drugs awareness and education information to young people; and the local "U" Project, working with year 11 school leavers who are not in education, training or employment.
	There is also a clear focus on reducing reoffending by young people, including through the expansion of the Intensive Supervisions and Surveillance Programme which is targeted at the more persistent young offenders in order to tackle their offending behaviour.

Crime and Disorder Partnerships

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the crime and disorder steering groups that include hon. Members; and if he will make a statement on the involvement of hon. Members on crime and disorder groups.

Hazel Blears: We recognise that hon. and right hon. Members are in a unique position to reflect community concerns as a result of their dealings with their local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships.
	At a national level, there are two key groups that engage Ministers, who are Members of this House and another place, and drive forward the Government's crime reduction agenda. These groups are CJS(CR) and my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister's regular stocktakes.
	The Ministerial Committee on the Criminal Justice System Sub-Committee on Crime Reduction (CJS(CR)) oversees the Government's programme to reduce crime. In addition, the Prime Minister has regular stocktakes with Ministers, officials and stakeholders to consider the pressing issues relating to crime reduction.

Criminal Intelligence

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines his Department has issued to police forces on the use of (a) criminal pattern analysis and (b) comparative case analysis.

Hazel Blears: No formal guidelines have been issued although research studies have been published relevant to this area.
	The Department has supported the roll out of the National Intelligence Model and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has produced a set of minimum standards for the model. These were circulated to forces in 2003. The National Policing Plan expects forces to adopt the model to these minimum standards by April 2004. The standards include the creation of four intelligence products that inform the setting of local and force priorities and the making of tactical resourcing decisions. The four intelligence products are informed by nine analytical techniques, one of which is Crime Pattern Analysis (analysis of the criminal would form the basis of one of the model's intelligence products). The techniques are used by trained intelligence analysts operating at both Basic Commend Unit and force level.
	Crime Pattern Analysis informs Comparative Case Analysis. Comparative Case Analysis is a standard analytical technique of the Serious Crime Analysis Section (SCAS) of the National Crime and Operations Faculty at CENTREX. The technique is predominantly utilised for, and suited to, serious crime and a code of practice on Serious Crime Analysis Compliance is nearing completion.

Criminal Records

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many volunteers working in athletics have (a) applied for and (b) been approved by Criminal Records Bureau checks in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Hazel Blears: I am unable to answer the hon. Member's question about the number of applications submitted by volunteers working in athletics to the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) in each year since 1997 because the Bureau does not hold information in that format. Nor can I provide details of the number of applications from volunteers working in athletics that have been approved by the Criminal Records Bureau. It is outside of the remit of the Bureau to do so.
	The Criminal Records Bureau will process an application that has been submitted for a pre-employment check on an individual and issue a Disclosure that may or may not contain details of criminal convictions or other information that might be pertinent to the position sought. The information is presented to an employer, who will make a decision on the applicant's suitability.

Hen Harriers

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there have been under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 for persecution of hen harriers in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Hazel Blears: Information collected centrally by the Home Office on court proceedings under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 does not enable the type of bird involved to be identified.

Identity Cards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he will ensure that (a) human rights and (b) civil liberties will not be violated under the proposed identity card scheme.

Beverley Hughes: As set out in "Identity Cards: The Next Steps" (Cm 6020), data held on the National Identity Register will be basic identity information. Only Parliament would be able to change the statutory purposes of the scheme or the information that could be held by the scheme. Organisations using the National Identity Register to verify identity will not be able to get to other personal information, for instance health or tax records via the register.
	Police and other organisations will not have routine access to data stored on the National Identity Register. Access would only be authorised in specific circumstances. Such access would be subject to legal and procedural safeguards and independent oversight. There will be no new power for the police to stop someone and demand to see their card.
	Research suggests that a majority of people in minority ethnic communities overwhelmingly support the idea of a national identity card scheme and do not feel that the proposals would be discriminatory; however, we will continue to work with organisations like the Commission for Racial Equality to ensure this in practice.

Identity Cards

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he will ensure that the central register used in the identity card scheme will be more (a) accurate and (b) transparent than existing databases.

Beverley Hughes: The central register, the National Identity Register, will be built from scratch using information provided by individuals as they are issued with identity cards and will not rely on other sources of data that may have historical or other errors. However, before an entry is confirmed, it will be checked against other databases such as passports, driving licences and immigration records to establish a person's historical footprint. The register will also link each individual's record to biometric information that is unique to that person. This will help prevent multiple registrations and people's identities being stolen. The National Identity Register will therefore be a single, highly reliable record of a person's identity. By establishing in statute the National Identity Register, there will be transparency in the purposes of and in the data held by the scheme, which could only be changed by a decision of Parliament.

Mobile Phones

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the effect of the initiative to deactivate stolen phones upon mobile phone theft.

Hazel Blears: Home Office research ("Mobile Phone Theft", December 2001) found that mobile phone theft was fuelling the rise in street robbery. The Government have worked in partnership with the mobile phone industry and the police to address the issue through the Street Crime Initiative.
	As part of this work, from 1 November 2002, all six UK network operators have shared a database on mobile phones so that lost and stolen handsets can be blocked from use across all UK networks. A publicity campaign has informed people of this. There are now over 1.1 million handsets on the UK database, making them less attractive as objects of theft. Street robbery went down 17 per cent. in 2002–03 compared with 2001–02 across the 10 street crime police force areas as a result of the implementation of this and other measures.

Police

Tony Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers are undergoing firearms training; and what the figure was five years ago.

Hazel Blears: The requested information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Police

Tony Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many serving police officers are qualified in the use of firearms; and what the figure was five years ago.

Hazel Blears: The number of authorised firearms officers (AFOs) in police forces in England and Wales for years 1998–2003 is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Number of authorised firearms officers (AFOs) 
		
		
			 1997–98 6,585 
			 1998–99 6,308 
			 1999–2000 6,262 
			 2000–01 6,064 
			 2001–02 5,776 
			 2002–03 5,763

Police

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what offences arrests can be carried out by a police officer only in uniform; and what the reason is for this condition.

Hazel Blears: The full information requested is not readily available and further research is required to provide a comprehensive reply. I will write to my hon. Friend.

Police

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police cells are in use in Lancashire.

Hazel Blears: The Chief Constable of Lancashire informs me that there are 176 cells in use within the police area.

Police

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police cells are available per head of population in each police force area.

Hazel Blears: Information on the number of cells is not held centrally.

Police

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cells were used for housing prisoners in each police force area on the latest date for which figures are available.

Hazel Blears: This information is not held centrally. This is an operational matter that falls within the remit of the individual Chief Constables.

Police

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what basis he has calculated the provisional increase in direct Home Office grant to police authorities for 2004–05.

Hazel Blears: We decided, exceptionally, on an increase of 3.25 per cent. in general grant to meet general inflationary pressures and allow all police authorities to set budgets that do not place excessive burdens on local taxpayers.

Police

David Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he has put in place to ensure that police authorities receive sufficient funding to meet their commitments under their statutory Police Plans.

Hazel Blears: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary's key priorities for policing over the next three years were set out in the National Policing Plan 2004–07. This national plan provides the framework within which local policing plans are prepared. Local policing plans and the funding of commitments contained in them are matters for individual police authorities.
	All police authorities in England and Wales will receive a 3.25 per cent. increase in general grants next year. This exceeds projections of general inflation of around 2.6 per cent. On top of this, funding for a range of targeted programmes and capital provision will be made available.

Police

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money has been provided to each police authority from Airwave grant in 2003–04; and what the planned provision is from Airwave grant for each police authority for 2004–05.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 26 January 2004
	The distribution of money from the Airwave grant to police authorities in 2003–04 is as shown in the following annex 'A'.
	In 2004–05, the Airwave grant payable to police authorities is to be absorbed within the general Home Office grant to the police.
	This funding is to be distributed as shown in the following annex 'B'.
	
		Annex A: Allocation of Airwave grant 2003–04 -- £000
		
			  Revenue Capital Total 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 505 — 505 
			 Bedfordshire 233 — 233 
			 Cambridgeshire 338 — 338 
			 Cheshire 246 4,193 4,439 
			 City of London 119 — 119 
			 Cleveland 432 — 432 
			 Cumbria 0 — 0 
			 Derbyshire 307 — 307 
			 Devon and Cornwall 0 — 0 
			 Dorset 157 — 157 
			 Durham 184 — 184 
			 Dyfed Powys 0 577 577 
			 Essex 443 1,884 2,327 
			 Gloucestershire 154 — 154 
			 GMP 1,128 — 1,128 
			 Gwent 155 — 155 
			 Hampshire 593 7,597 8,190 
			 Hertfordshire 293 — 293 
			 Humberside 341 — 341 
			 Kent 0 7,153 7,153 
			 Lancashire 541 — 541 
			 Leicestershire 307 — 307 
			 Lincolnshire 429 — 429 
			 Merseyside 1,236 2,631 3,867 
			 Met 3,355 11,663 15,018 
			 Norfolk 0 3,232 3,232 
			 North Wales 0 843 843 
			 North Yorkshire 232 — 232 
			 Northamptonshire 99 2,532 2,631 
			 Northumbria 635 — 635 
			 Nottinghamshire 943 — 943 
			 South Wales 548 — 548 
			 South Yorkshire 903 4,695 5,598 
			 Staffordshire 0 4,357 4,357 
			 Suffolk 207 — 207 
			 Surrey 531 2,762 3,293 
			 Sussex 0 1,873 1,873 
			 Thames Valley 674 — 674 
			 Warwickshire 40 2,023 2,063 
			 West Mercia 340 — 340 
			 West Midlands 860 14,687 15,547 
			 West Yorkshire 866 3,227 4,093 
			 Wiltshire 195  195 
			 Totals 18,569 75,929 94,498 
		
	
	
		Annex B: Allocation of Airwave grant to general grant 2004–05 -- £000
		
			  Allocation 
		
		
			 Avon and Somerset 840 
			 Bedfordshire 320 
			 Cambridgeshire 380 
			 Cheshire 560 
			 City of London 240 
			 Cleveland 450 
			 Cumbria 310 
			 Derbyshire 530 
			 Devon and Cornwall 870 
			 Dorset 330 
			 Durham 440 
			 Dyfed Powys 260 
			 Essex 840 
			 Gloucestershire 310 
			 GMP 2,040 
			 Gwent 370 
			 Hampshire 990 
			 Hertfordshire 540 
			 Humberside 600 
			 Kent 950 
			 Lancashire 950 
			 Leicestershire 530 
			 Lincolnshire 310 
			 Merseyside 1,290 
			 Met 9,460 
			 Norfolk 430 
			 North Wales 390 
			 North Yorkshire 380 
			 Northamptonshire 330 
			 Northumbria 1,150 
			 Nottinghamshire 660 
			 South Wales 870 
			 South Yorkshire 920 
			 Staffordshire 570 
			 Suffolk 340 
			 Surrey 460 
			 Sussex 820 
			 Thames Valley 1,110 
			 Warwickshire 260 
			 West Mercia 560 
			 West Midlands 2,080 
			 West Yorkshire 1,550 
			 Wiltshire 310 
			 Totals 37,920

Police

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the Government's policy for the funding for 2004–05 and future financial years of police authority expenditure now financed by the Airwave grant.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 26 January 2004
	The Government's policy is to give the police authorities maximum possible flexibility and discretion in the use of the grants provided to them by the Home Office. £38 million previously intended to be provided to police authorities as a grant specifically for Airwave in 2004–05 will now be provided to police authorities as part of the general Home Office grant to the police.
	Funding for future years is the subject of discussion as part of the 2004 settlement.

President Bush (Visit)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimate of the cost of security for the recent visit of President Bush to the UK is; and whether he expects that figure to change.

Hazel Blears: The Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis informs me the total cost to the Metropolitan Police Service relating to the state visit of the President of the United States between 18 and 21 November 2003 was £3,924,680. This includes additional costs of £1.45 million, of which £0.8 million was incurred in overtime payments. These figures are not expected to change as all claims have been processed.
	The Chief Constable of Durham Constabulary tells me that the total cost to Durham Constabulary regarding the President's visit to Sedgefield on 21 November was £985,000. This figure may change.

Ministerial Travel

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he last used a train in connection with his ministerial duties.

David Blunkett: I regularly use trains in the course of my ministerial duties.
	All ministerial travel on official business is undertaken fully in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are in the Libraries of the House.

Unaccompanied Children

Jonathan R Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the piloting of removals of unaccompanied children will involve their detention.

Beverley Hughes: There are no plans to detain unaccompanied children who will be removed under the returns programme. Unaccompanied children are only ever detained in the most exceptional circumstances and then normally only overnight while alternative care arrangements are made. Arrangements for return will be planned in partnership with Local Authorities; this will include an assessment of the child/young person's suitability for return and whether return is in their best interests.

Unaccompanied Children

Jonathan R Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provision he intends to make to ensure that appropriate reception arrangements are in place for unaccompanied children who are removed under the new pilots.

Beverley Hughes: The returns programme for unaccompanied asylum seeking children who have been refused asylum is still in the early stages of development. We are currently exploring the kinds of reception arrangements that could be put in place. Before any child or young person was returned under the programme we would need to be confident that the arrangements put in place were of an acceptable standard and that the person's return was not in breach of our international obligations.

Work Permits

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many work permits were awarded to health workers to work (a) in the UK National Health Service and (b) the non-NHS sector for each of the last 10 years.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 12 February 2004
	Due to the structure of the Work Permits (UK) database a breakdown of the number of work permits awarded to health workers by employer type i.e. in NHS or non-NHS employment, can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Devolution

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost to public funds of setting up devolved government in Northern Ireland was.

Paul Murphy: It is not possible to determine the cost of setting up devolved government in Northern Ireland. However, any costs incurred by the Departments of the Northern Ireland Administration have been absorbed within the Northern Ireland block, which was not increased specifically as a result of devolution.

Agreed Behaviour Contracts

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many agreed behaviour contracts (ABCs) have been issued in Northern Ireland since their introduction; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of ABCs in tackling anti-social behaviour.

John Spellar: Acceptable behaviour contracts (ABCs) have not been introduced in Northern Ireland. They form part of the current consultation on measures to tackle anti-social behaviour. In considering proposals for consultation I have been informed by Home Office Research in England and Wales, which found that ABCs were effective in reducing anti-social behaviour by those young people subject to them.

Batteries

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the dangers to the environment from batteries containing mercury and other toxic metals, being dumped in local waste dumps in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The potential adverse environmental impacts from mercury are universally accepted. However, the EC Scientific Committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment recognises that there is no methodology to assess the long-term risks of leachate from landfills.
	Industry voluntary measures introduced in 1985 and EC legislation since 1991 have gradually reduced the amount of mercury in batteries, resulting in a reduction in landfilled mercury across the UK from an estimated 4.4t in 1994 to 0.028t in 2000; over time this amount will effectively fall to zero.
	Other current EC legislation will increase the collection and recycling of spent batteries and ban the co-disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste at landfill sites.

Cross-Border Bodies

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to increase the number of cross-border bodies.

Ian Pearson: I have no such plans at present.

Dental Health

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the standard of dental health of the Province's population.

Angela Smith: There has been a gradual improvement in the standard of oral health in adults in Northern Ireland over the last 10 years. However, the general level of oral health here is still considerably worse than in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, particularly among children.
	The Chief Dental Officer has recently established a Steering Group to develop a new Oral Health Strategy, which will set the oral health agenda for the next 10 years. This new Strategy will identify the oral health needs of the population here, determine desired outcomes and identify areas where oral health can link into the wider health agenda.

EU Regulations

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many European Union regulations relating specifically to Northern Ireland have been published in each year since 1997.

Paul Murphy: EU regulations have general application. They are binding in their entirety and are directly applicable in all member states.
	Based on the records in the Official Journal of the European Union (copies available in the House Library) we assess that the number of EC, ECSC and Euratom regulations made was as follows.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1997 2,339 
			 1998 2,852 
			 1999 2,802 
			 2000 2,882 
			 2001 2,600 
			 2002 2,125 
			 2003 2,176

European Year of Disabled People

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action was taken in Northern Ireland to support the United Kingdom theme for the European Year of Disabled People to promote rights and participation.

John Spellar: A Northern Ireland Regional Steering Group, representing a wide range of interests, was established to promote and develop a successful programme of activities within Northern Ireland consistent with the UK theme for the European Year of People with Disabilities 2003 of promoting rights and participation. It organised a range of events which also included Ministers.
	A NI Grant Scheme resulted in 22 organisations in Northern Ireland collectively receiving £100,000 for projects which promote rights and participation. This adds to the £222,000 awarded to 12 other Northern Ireland projects from the UK fund for the year. A new award scheme was also launched by the Employers' Forum on Disability aimed at acknowledging best practice among employers who do most in Northern Ireland to promote employment of people with disabilities in the workforce. An awareness raising media campaign entitled "Think for a Change: It's Time for Change", highlighted disadvantage experienced by people with disabilities in terms of lower income, education and employment.
	A two-day Conference entitled "Breaking the Barriers" recently took place aimed at exploring how services can be improved to take account of the needs and rights of people with disabilities. The European Year of People with Disabilities has since been extended to 31 March 2004 in Northern Ireland.

Orthopaedic Surgeons

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to increase the number of consultant orthopaedic surgeons in Northern Ireland.

Angela Smith: The number of consultant orthopaedic surgeons increased to 41 by December 2003, representing a 37 per cent. increase in five years. In recognition that there is a need to further increase the number of consultants, the number of specialist trainees has also been increased to the current level of 23, an increase of over 50 per cent. in five years.

Pension Books

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average length of time taken to replace pension books when they expired was in Northern Ireland in the last year for which figures are available.

John Spellar: Unfortunately the information requested is not available.
	Renewal pension books are issued automatically three weeks in advance of the date of the first order in the new book.

Pension Books

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many pension books were issued in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

John Spellar: The number of pension books issued in each of the last five years is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Number of pension books 
		
		
			 1999 196,000 
			 2000 194,000 
			 2001 191,000 
			 2002 189,000 
			 2003 166,000

Pension Books

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the impact of the introduction of automated credit transfer for payment of pensions in Northern Ireland.

John Spellar: At December 2003, just over 34 per cent. of Pensions customers were paid by Direct Payment. Between April 2003 and January 2004, the Social Security Agency has contacted 159,000 pensioner customers asking them to convert to Direct Payment. Seventy nine thousand customers have provided account details and these will be activated as the current order book expires. A further 23,000 customers have responded positively to Agency correspondence.
	A customer satisfaction survey was carried out in September 2003 for customers who had converted to Direct Payment and the results were very positive. A further survey is to be carried out in April 2004.

Planning

David Trimble: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the determination of the application for planning permission, reference number P/2000/2176 was; when it was made; and when it was communicated to the applicant.

Angela Smith: Planning Service determined that the application should be approved. A Decision Notice was issued to the applicant's agent on 2 February 2004.

Police

Andrew Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will revoke the decision to disband the full-time police reserve in the light of on-going activity of terrorist organisations in Northern Ireland.

Jane Kennedy: The Government accepted, subject to the security situation, the recommendation in the Patten report that "the future police service should not include a Full Time Reserve". In October 2002 the Chief Constable put to the Policing Board a human resource strategy to meet the staffing needs of the Police Service over the next 8 to 10 years which the Policing board endorsed. This included a phased run-down of the Full-Time Reserve over an 18 month period from April 2005, subject to no further deterioration of the security situation and the continued success of the recruitment campaign for the Police Service.
	Later this year the Chief Constable will put forward advice to the Board and the Secretary of State on these matters. The Government recognises the major contribution that members of the Reserve have made to the maintenance of law and order in Northern Ireland and the high price that they and many of their families have had to pay in doing so.

Prisons

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost of maintaining the prison population in Northern Ireland was in the past three years; and what the average cost per prisoner was in each of those years.

Jane Kennedy: The cost of maintaining the prison population in Northern Ireland in the past three years and the average cost per prisoner place in each of those years was as follows:
	
		£
		
			  Cost Cost per prisoner place 
		
		
			 2000–01 93,230,000 74,580 
			 2001–02 87,486,000 71,475 
			 2002–03 95,564,000 68,999

Prisons

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to reinstate the Braille Unit at HMP Maghaberry; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The implementation of the Steele recommendations has seriously impacted on the Governor's ability to maintain and sustain the regime and at present only a restricted range of services can be provided. It is hoped that with full implementation of Steele, the prison can quickly restore a fully resourced Integrated Regime including braille transcription and related services. It is intended that work will commence at the beginning of April 2004 to re-locate the Braille Unit to a much larger facility within the prison workshop area and to expand the range of services provided.

Student Finance

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the impact of the introduction of variable top-up fees on university students in Northern Ireland.

Jane Kennedy: The Higher Education Bill, which includes proposals for the introduction of variable deferred tuition fees, does not, in the main, apply to Northern Ireland. It has, however, significant implications in view of the strong links between the higher education sectors and the level of student flows between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.
	I have been giving careful considerations to the implications, taking into account discussions with local stakeholders and advice from the Northern Ireland Higher Education Council (NIHEC). It is my intention to bring forward proposals soon for the way forward in Northern Ireland.

Work Force Statistics

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the composition of the monitored full-time work force was, broken down by religious designation, in (a) 1992 and (b) 2002.

John Spellar: Information regarding the composition of the monitored full-time workforce, broken down by religious designation, can be found in the Fair Employment Commission Monitoring Report (No. 3), which summarises the 1992 monitoring returns and the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland Monitoring Report (No. 13), which summarises the 2002 monitoring returns. Copies of both reports are available for reference from the Library of the House.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Advisers' Discretionary Fund

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent on the Advisers' Discretionary Fund in each year since it was set up; what figures his Department collects on the breakdown of spending via the Advisers' Discretionary Fund; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: The total spend per year on the Advisers' Discretionary Fund, introduced in July 2001, is shown in the table.
	
		Advisers' Discretionary Fund -- £
		
			  Spend 
		
		
			 July 2001 to March 2002 6,191,945 
			 April 2002 to March 2003 15,975,996 
			 April 2003 to December 2003 23,765,210 
			   
			 Total 45,933,151 
		
	
	The figures on breakdown of spending are not centrally collated.

Pensions

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2004, Official Report, column 957W, on pensions, if he will estimate the net Exchequer effects of the pension reforms set out in the answer, based on the additional assumption that all age-related income tax personal allowances are abolished as part of each reform package.

Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is set out in the table.
	
		£ billion
		
			  2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 
		
		
			 Over 65 8.0 8.2 8.7 9.4 10.1 
			 Over 70 5.6 5.8 6.2 6.7 7.2 
			 Over 75 3.6 3.8 4.1 4.4 4.7 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are in 2003–04 price terms rounded to the nearest £100 million. It is assumed the change comes into effect from April 2004 on the same basis as the previous answer.
	2. The costing assumes that aged and super aged personal allowances are reduced to the personal allowance level.
	3. Gross costs are estimated by the Government Actuary's Department and are consistent with Budget 2003 assumptions. Estimates are all based on the new (2002) population projection and allow for recent revisions.
	4. The costs take into account income related benefit offsets, which are calculated using the DWP policy simulation model and April 2004 benefit rates.
	5. Additional income tax revenue is estimated by the Inland Revenue using 2004 tax rates.

Benefit Fraud

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the (a) operational and (b) advertising costs of the National Benefit Fraud Hotline in each of the last six years.

Chris Pond: The available information is in the table:
	
		National benefit fraud hotline -- £
		
			  Operational costs Advertising costs 
		
		
			 1997–98 (5)— 225,000 
			 1998–99 (5)— 290,247 
			 1999–2000 (5)— 337,672 
			 2000–01 627,804 425,178 
			 2001–02 1,086,000 (6)— 
			 2002–03 959,277 (6)— 
		
	
	(5) Not available.
	(6) Not separately assessed.
	Notes
	1. Operational costs for the National Benefit Fraud Hotline are only available for the last three years. Operational cost figures are not available prior to 2000–01.
	2. The National Benefit Fraud Hotline (NBFH) number was advertised separately up until 2000–2001. Since the Targeting Fraud (now Targeting Benefit Fraud) advertising campaign started in 2001, the NBFH number has been included in the campaign advertising and has not been the subject of any advertising on its own.
	3. Operational costs include staffing costs and goods and services costs.
	4. The operational costs of administering the National Benefit Fraud Hotline include the costs of administering report-a-cheat-online. These costs cannot be separated.
	Source
	Operational costs—National Benefit Fraud Hotline.
	Advertising costs—DWP Communications Directorate.

Benefit Fraud

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2004, Official Report, column 731W, how many people have been found to have committed benefit fraud against his Department on (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four, (e) five, (f) six, (g) seven, (h) eight, (i) nine, (j) 10 and (k) more than 10 occasions since the powers to sanction benefits introduced by the Social Security Act 2001 took effect.

Chris Pond: The information requested is not available.

Benefit Fraud

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2004, Official Report, column 731W, how many people have been (a) investigated and (b) prosecuted for committing benefit fraud against his Department on two or more occasions since the powers to sanction benefits introduced by the Social Security Act 2001 took effect.

Chris Pond: The information on investigations is not available.
	On prosecutions, our latest information is that 30 people have been convicted of benefit fraud on at least two occasions since the powers to sanction benefits introduced by the Social Security Act 2001 took effect. However, data is incomplete and subject to change due to late notification.

Economic Inactivity

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures are in place to address the causes and effects of economic inactivity; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: Nearly three quarters of people of working age are in work—not just in one year but year-on-year. High levels of employment are not enough. Active labour market policies ensure people can take advantage of the many job opportunities coming up all the time. This is especially true for those most disadvantaged including the long-term unemployed, lone parents, people with disabilities and older workers.
	There are a number of measures in place to tackle the causes of inactivity. For example, where people lose, or risk losing, their jobs due to illness, injury or disability, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is working to help employers, in partnership with their employees, to prevent long term sickness from turning into unemployment.
	There are a number of programmes and initiatives aimed at helping people find and remain in work. The New Deal Programmes aim to help different groups of people who have been out of work to move into work or improve their prospects of doing so, through for example job search and skills training. The national minimum wage, tax credits and various other financial incentives ensure that people who do take up opportunities and find work are better off in work.
	For example the New Deal for Lone Parents (NDLP) available to all lone parents who are not working or working less than 16 hours per week offers lone parents advice with job seeking, training, in-work benefits and child care.
	For people on incapacity benefit we are piloting reforms to support a return to work. More information is available in 'Pathways to Work: Helping people in employment; CM 5690'. This sets out the strategy for encouraging and assisting people with health problems and disabilities to return to work, and enable them to become and remain independent and enjoy the personal, social and financial benefits that having a job brings.
	More help is also being provided for those who face the greatest barriers to work, for example former drug mis-users, the long-term unemployed and people from minority ethnic communities. In particular areas of labour market disadvantage Action Teams provide individually tailored, innovative ways to help jobless people overcome the barriers to work they may face. This might include, for example, debt counselling or help with work clothes and child care costs.

Health and Safety

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place an obligation on companies to publish, within their annual report, a statement containing (a) their health and safety policy and (b) initiatives that have been taken to implement these policies.

Jacqui Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government have no plans to place an obligation on companies to publish within their annual report a statement containing their health and safety policy.

Health and Safety

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to lift Crown immunity with regards to health and safety legislation.

Des Browne: The requirements of health and safety legislation apply to Crown bodies, but they are immune from statutory health and safety enforcement.
	The Government will seek a legislative opportunity, when parliamentary time allows, to remove this immunity.
	In the meantime the Health and Safety Executive uses non-statutory arrangements to enforce health and safety requirements in Crown bodies', including censuring Crown bodies in circumstances, where but for Crown immunity, prosecution would have been justified.

Health and Safety

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the budget was in (a) cash and (b) real terms of the Health and Safety Executive for each year since 1997; and what the forecast budgets for the next three years are.

Des Browne: The annual budgets allocated to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) from 1997–98 to 2005–06 are set out in the table.
	
		HSE's annual budgets -- £ million
		
			  Budget(7) 
		
		
			 1997–08 174.1 
			 1998–09 175.7 
			 1999–2000 180.6 
			 2000–01 181.3 
			 2001–02 199.4 
			 2002–03 210.4 
			 2003–04 225.5 
			 2004–05 225.5 
			 2005–06 223.5 
		
	
	(7) The budget for HSE in 2006–07 will be confirmed by autumn this year as part of the 2004 spending review exercise.
	Notes
	1. Budget figures are the total amount voted by Parliament to HSE. HSE's budgets up to and including 2000–01 were based on the Grant in Aid (cash) voted to the organisation. From 2001–02, Government replaced 'cash' allocations with Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) arrangements. Under RAB, HSE bids for resources and produces accounts on an accruals basis, which include costs for depreciation, the cost of capital and provisions for liabilities. The 'cash' and 'RAB' figures are not directly comparable.
	2. Rounded to the nearest £100k.
	3. Following the Cullen Inquiry additional ring-fenced funding was allocated to HSE to spend across years 2002–03 to 2004–05 to improve rail safety. This is not shown in the annual budget figures.

Post Office Card Accounts

Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans the Government has to promote the use of Post Office card accounts in Scotland.

Chris Pond: Our nationwide direct payment information campaign has an important role to play in the way we take customers through the associated changes.
	When it is their turn to change customers are being provided with all the information they need on all of their "account options". This information lists all the accounts, which can be accessed at post office branches and sets out how to apply for a Post Office card account. It will be for customers themselves to decide which account will best meet their needs and circumstances. Any benefit or pension customer who wishes to open a Post Office card account will be able to do so.

TREASURY

Alcohol Duty

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the level of duty is in (a) the UK, (b) France and (c) Spain on (i) beer, (ii) wine and (iii) spirits;
	(2)  if he will estimate the effect on United Kingdom duty revenues of equalising UK duty on (a) wine, (b) beer and (c) spirits with levels in France.

John Healey: Alcohol duty rates in European Union member states are published in the European Commission's 'Excise Duty Tables—Alcoholic Beverages'. The table gives figures for the UK, Spain and France from the tables published in December 2003, converted to pounds sterling from euros using the average exchange rate for December 2003 as published by the Office for National Statistics in Table 7.1A of "Financial Statistics", and converted to pounds per hectolitre per cent. of alcohol (where necessary) using an approximation of 12.5° Plato to 5 per cent. alcohol by volume (ABV).
	
		
			Wine 
			  Spirits Beer Still Sparkling 
			 Exciseduty rate £/litre of alcohol £/h/1 per cent. alcohol ABV £/hl ABV £/hl 
		
		
			>2 per cent. <-4 per cent. 48.91 >5.5 per cent. <8.5 per cent.  166.70  
			 UK 19.60 12.22 >4 per cent. <-5.5 per cent. 67.25   
			>5.5 per cent. <-15 per cent. 158.69 >8.5 per cent. <-15 per cent. 220.54  
			15 per cent. to 22 per cent. 211.58   
			 Spain 5.20 1.43  0.00  0.00 
			 France 10.20 1.83  2.39  5.90 
		
	
	The second table shows the cost in excise duty and VAT revenue forgone if the UK were to apply the excise duty rates applicable in France in December 2003. These figures are derived from the HM Treasury alcohol demand model published in May 2003 1 , which is used to estimate associated effects on demand. This shows that the total cost of equalising excise duty rates for beer, wine and spirits with those in France would be more than £6 billion, equivalent to a 1.5 per cent. increase in the standard rate of VAT or around 2p extra on the basic rate of income tax.
	
		Revenue Forgone
		
			  £ billion 
		
		
			 Spirits 0.80 
			 Beer 3.44 
			 Wine 1.88 
			 Total 6.12 
		
	
	1 Further technical details relating to this econometric model can be found in Government Economic Service Working Paper No. 140.

Parliamentary Questions

Graham Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many days on average his Department took in Session 2002–03 to give a substantive answer to a parliamentary question for ordinary written answer; and what the greatest number of days taken to answer such a question was.

John Healey: In the 2002–03 Session, Treasury Ministers answered ordinary written questions substantively in an average of just under six working days. 2,548 of 3,343 questions concerned (76.2 per cent.) were answered within a week of tabling.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

EU Funding

Ann Winterton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 26 January 2004, Official Report, column 157W, whether the difference in the figures between already allocated EU funds and the total funding of Euro440 million for the North West, Euro136 million for the North East and Euro466 million for Yorkshire and Humber has yet to be allocated for the remaining period in 2000–06.

Nick Raynsford: The figures tabled in the answer of 26 January related only to the European Regional Development Fund and did not include the European Social Fund (ESF), the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) or the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG). Allocations, in euros, for all European structural funds in the North East, North West and Yorkshire and Humber Government Office areas for Objective 1 and 2 programmes are tabled as follows. All the funds have been allocated to programmes but some of the funds have still to be awarded to actual projects.
	
		Allocation (Euro000)
		
			 Programme ERDF ESF EAGGF FIFG Total 
		
		
			 North East Objective 2 581,330 135,670 0 0 717,000 
			 North West Objective 1 893,048 434,300 5,500 0.400 1,332,848.4 
			 North West Objective 2 808,330 0 0 0 808,330 
			 Yorkshire and Humber Objective 1 785,558 363,842 23,050 0 1,172,450 
			 Yorkshire and Humber Objective 2 448,360 69,480 0 0 517,840

Government Grants

Ann Winterton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister from which financial year the (a) £780 million Government grant for the North West, (b) £350 million grant for the North East and (c) £570 million grant for Yorkshire and the Humber referred to in the "Your Say" booklets is calculated.

Nick Raynsford: The figures referred to in the "Your Say" leaflets for the North West, the North East and Yorkshire and the Humber were calculated on the basis of the 2002–03 financial year.

Local Government

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many responses have been received to date in response to the consultation on the future configuration of local government in the North West Region from residents of (a) Cheshire, (b) Lancashire, (c) Cumbria, (d) Greater Manchester, (e) Merseyside and (f) the North West Region; what the cost has been of the consultations; what costs have been incurred by (i) Vale Royal Borough Council, (ii) Chester City Council, (iii) Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council and (iv) Cheshire County Council in relation to this issue and the consultation exercise; and what rights of recovery of these costs councils have in the event of a no vote in a referendum on an elected North West regional government.

Nick Raynsford: The Boundary Committee's consultation on its draft recommendations is a matter for that independent Committee.
	Councils that respond to the Boundary Committee's consultation exercise do so on their own initiative and have no right to recover any costs they incur.

Public Funding

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what sources of public funding are available to local authorities other than Council Tax and central Government grant.

Nick Raynsford: In addition to various forms of central Government grant, which includes National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR), local authorities are able to access other forms of grant such as European funding and lottery funding.

Regional Assemblies

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the size of central government grant to an elected regional assembly in (a) the North East, (b) the North West and (c) Yorkshire and the Humber in its first financial year.

Nick Raynsford: Based on figures for 2002–03, and including European programmes, an elected regional assembly in the North East would be responsible for around £350 million a year, in the North West for £780 million and in Yorkshire and the Humber for £570 million. In addition each assembly will receive grant in respect of its Fire and Rescue responsibilities.

"Supporting People"

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the funding of "Supporting People" in Lancashire.

Yvette Cooper: The final "Supporting People" grant awarded to Lancashire in 2003–04 was £30,781,847. This was the full verified amount submitted to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister by the Lancashire team. The Lancashire "Supporting People" team also received £767,000 to help with the administration of the programme.

Thurrock Urban Development Corporation

Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister for what reasons greenfield green belt land has been included within the boundary of the area of the Thurrock Urban Development Corporation.

Yvette Cooper: The Urban Development Corporation (UDC) boundaries are coterminous with the boundaries for Thurrock Council's administrative area. This provides the UDC with the flexibility to consider development opportunities across the borough, to create new settlements and to improve the sustainability of existing communities. It also enables the UDC to undertake a detailed appraisal of current land-use within the borough and to develop strategic proposals for regeneration, housing and economic development, which will ensure balanced and sustainable growth across the borough.

Travellers

Peter Lilley: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what (a) estimate and (b) provision he has made for expenditure by local authorities on opening sites for temporary accommodation by Travellers in the coming financial year.

Keith Hill: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has made £8 million available for 2004–05 via the Gypsy Sites Refurbishment Grant. Bids for 2004–05 are currently being evaluated.
	It is for local authorities to determine, based on an assessment of need, whether they will bid for funding from this grant, or make provision from their own resources.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Expert Witnesses

Anne Campbell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, for the Home Department what proportion of criminal cases involved evidence from expert witnesses in each of the last five years; and what proportion of these witnesses were registered with the Council for the Registration of Forensic Practitioners.

Christopher Leslie: The information is not collected centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Court Fees

Vera Baird: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs 
	(1)  how the existence of the judicial power to waive or remit fees in the small claims track is publicised;
	(2)  how the power in Article Six of the County Court Rules to waive fees for exceptional circumstances involving exceptional financial hardship is publicised.

Christopher Leslie: There is no judicial power to waive or remit court fees. Court Service staff administer fees remissions on behalf of the Lord Chancellor. The provision for remission of court fees is publicised by way of posters displayed on public notice boards in court offices and also by cross-referencing in relevant forms and leaflets.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Connexions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many Connexions Partnerships have established their working arrangements with voluntary youth services by way of a partnership agreement.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 23 February 2004
	Information on the number of working agreements between Connexions Partnerships and voluntary youth services is not collected centrally.
	All Connexions Partnerships are encouraged to work with their local Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) partners to meet the needs of young people and there is strong evidence of such working relationships across the country.
	From 1 April 2004 each Connexion Partnership must develop a clear and systematic local strategy for the involvement of the VCS in service design, planning, delivery and evaluation.

Contingency Planning

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what terrorist contingency planning advice is available to schools and headteachers via the recently updated Teachernet website;
	(2)  how much funding was provided for (a) the recent updates to the Teachernet website and (b) educating schools and head teachers on contingency planning for terrorist attacks;
	(3)  what terrorist contingency planning advice is available for schools.

Charles Clarke: Specific detailed Government advice on terrorism is provided by the Home Office. The Teachernet website provides a link to their site. I refer my hon. Friend to Official Report, 5 February 2004, column 1033W for the cost of producing the emergency planning website on Teachernet. The purpose of the site was always to provide advice to schools, in one place, about drawing up an emergency plan for all types of emergencies and primarily on how to cope with the sudden death of a pupil. In an emergency, head teachers know that they should dial 999 and the emergency services will then take control of the situation. Local authorities have responsibility for emergency planning at local level and that includes schools.

Education Funding

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which schools in (a) North Lincolnshire and (b) North East Lincolnshire which ran a deficit budget in 2001–02; and how much each deficit is.

David Miliband: The information requested is contained within the following tables:
	
		North Lincolnshire schools which ran a deficit budget(8) in 2001–02
		
			 School name Deficit(8) (£) 
		
		
			 Frederick Gough School 54,910 
			 Brumby School 18,756 
			 St. Bernadette's Catholic Primary School 9,457 
			 St. Mary's Catholic Primary School 9,124 
			 Huntcliff School 7,787 
			 Baysgarth School 3,571 
			 Priory Lane Infant School 621 
		
	
	(8) Deficit budget is taken from table 2 column 12—Balance Carried Forward.
	Notes:
	1. The balance to be carried forward represent total resources available to the school less school expenditure and unspent allocations.
	2. The data are as reported by North Lincolnshire LEA within their 2001–02 Section 52 Outturn Statement (table 2) submitted to the DfES.
	
		North East Lincolnshire schools which ran a deficit budget(9) in 2001–02
		
			 School name Deficit(9) (£) 
		
		
			 The Lindsey School and Community Arts College 81,554 
			 Welholme Infants' School 35,105 
			 St. Joseph's RC Primary School 6,005 
			 Healing Comprehensive School 5,841 
		
	
	(9) Deficit budget is taken from table 2 column 12—Balance Carried Forward.
	Note:
	1. The balance to be carried forward represent total resources available to the school less school expenditure and unspent allocations.
	2. The data are as reported by North East Lincolnshire LEA within their 2001–02 Section 52 Outturn Statement (table 2) submitted to the DfES.

Education Funding

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total education budget is in Gloucestershire in 2003–04; what percentage of that budget is spent in schools; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: holding answer 6 February 2004
	The information requested is given in the following table.
	
		Gloucestershire education budget and percentage spent in schools for 2003–04
		
			  £ Percentage 
		
		
			 Individual schools budget 221,544,390 77 
			 Central elements within the schools budget 35,695,453 12 
			 Total schools budget 257,239,843 90 
			 Total LEA budget 29,357,448 10 
			 Total education revenue expenditure 286,597,291 100 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The data are as reported by Gloucestershire LEA within their section 52 Budget Statement (table 1) for 2003–04 submitted to the DfES at 9 February 2004. It is still subject to basic validation and could change
	2. Percentages may not sum due to rounding.
	3. Taken from line 1.0.1—Individual schools budget (ISB). This is the amount available for delegation to schools after provision has been made for retained items.
	4. The central element within the schools budget is the total schools budget minus the ISB. This money is spent on schools rather than in schools. The data is not collected in such a way that we can say precisely how much of this central element is spent in schools.
	5. Taken from line 1.7.1—Total schools budget.
	6. Taken from line 2.8.1—Total LEA budget.

Faith Schools

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what criteria need to be met for a new faith school to open within the state sector.

David Miliband: holding answer 6 February 2004
	School Organisation Committees or Schools Adjudicators decide proposals for new schools on individual merit and in the light of local circumstances. They must have regard to statutory guidance which specifies the factors that have to be considered for all new schools including the effect on standards, need for places, costs, impact on community cohesion, views of interested parties etc. The guidance is available on the Department's website at www.dfes.gov.uk/schoolorg. Where a competition has been held for an additional secondary school, proposals are decided by the Secretary of State, taking into account comments by the SOC. While there are no factors that relate specifically to faith schools whether or not they are being considered as part of a competition or otherwise, the decision maker will take account of the level of parental demand for the type of school proposed.

Free School Meals

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of children were entitled to free school meals in each school in a principal seaside town on the latest date for which figures are available, listed in descending order; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: It is the Department's policy not to publish figures about individual schools unless the schools concerned have had the opportunity to check or confirm that information. Therefore, aggregate data for the principal seaside towns in England is shown in the table.
	The definition of a seaside town has been taken from a report published by Sheffield Hallam University, entitled, "The Seaside Economy".
	
		Maintained primary schools(10): number and percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals(11) -- January 2003: Principal seaside towns in England(12)
		
			  Primary 
			  All pupils(13) Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Blackpool 11,180 2,890 25.8 
			 Bridlington 3,100 670 21.4 
			 Southend-on-Sea 7,470 1,590 21.2 
			 Clacton-on-Sea 5,450 1,150 21.0 
			 Morecambe and Heysham 4,680 980 21.0 
			 Hastings/Bexhill 6,010 1,220 20.2 
			 Great Yarmouth 9,490 1,780 18.7 
			 Scarborough 6,000 1,110 18.5 
			 Isle of Wight 7,270 1,310 18.1 
			 Lowestoft 5,100 920 18.0 
			 Torbay 10,330 1,850 17.9 
			 Brighton 14,730 2,580 17.5 
			 Eastbourne 7,210 1,200 16.7 
			 Penzance 3,130 500 15.9 
			 Weston-super-Mare 6,800 1,060 15.6 
			 llfracombe 1,300 190 14.7 
			 St. Ives 760 110 14.5 
			 Dawlish/Teignmouth 2,010 290 14.2 
			 Minehead 870 120 13.6 
			 Whitby 1,840 240 13.1 
			 Exmouth 2,720 360 13.0 
			 Deal 2,700 350 12.8 
			 Falmouth 2,170 280 12.8 
			 Skegness 2,320 290 12.6 
			 Whitstable/Herne Bay 5,260 620 11.7 
			 Southport 7,340 850 11.5 
			 Folkstone/Hythe 1,290 150 11.3 
			 Bournemouth 11,490 1,170 10.2 
			 Newquay 2,110 200 9.7 
			 Burnham-on-Sea 1,040 100 9.5 
			 Bognor Regis 4,510 430 9.4 
			 Sidmouth 880 80 8.6 
			 Whitley Bay 3,420 270 8.0 
			 Weymouth 4,720 370 7.7 
			 Worthing 8,910 650 7.3 
			 Swanage 560 20 3.6 
		
	
	(10) Includes middle schools as deemed.
	(11) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	(12) Based upon postal town of schools with the exception of Isle of Wight and Torbay for which the respective local education authorities have been used.
	(13) Includes dually registered pupils and boarding pupils.
	Source:
	Annual Schools' Census
	
		Maintained secondary schools(14): Number and percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals(15) -- January 2003: Principal seaside towns in England(16)
		
			  Secondary 
			  All pupils(17) Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals 
		
		
			  
			  
			 Blackpool 8,670 1,840 21.2 
			 Clacton-on-Sea 3,520 680 19.3 
			 Lowestoft 6,790 1,290 19.0 
			 Morecambe and Heysham 2,760 500 18.2 
			 Brighton 7,080 1,250 17.6 
			 Folkstone/Hythe 1,270 210 16.9 
			 Isle of Wight 12,060 1,930 16.0 
			 Great Yarmouth 4,550 710 15.7 
			 Penzance 2,220 340 15.4 
			 Falmouth 1,270 190 15.1 
			 Southend-on-Sea 4,460 670 15.0 
			 Bridlington 2,540 370 14.7 
			 Scarborough 4,290 600 14.1 
			 Eastbourne 5,570 780 14.0 
			 Torbay 9,020 1,250 13.9 
			 Weston-super-Mare 4,240 580 13.7 
			 Hastings/Bexhill 4,670 640 13.6 
			 Whitstable/Herne Bay 2,340 310 13.3 
			 Minehead 1,860 250 13.3 
			 Skegness 1,860 250 13.3 
			 Deal 1,370 160 11.7 
			 Southport 4,930 570 11.5 
			 Whitby 1,810 200 11.1 
			 St. Ives 720 80 10.5 
			 Dawlish/Teignmouth 1,880 200 10.4 
			 Weymouth 3,660 380 10.3 
			 Bournemouth 9,960 1,000 10.0 
			 Newquay 2,640 260 9.9 
			 Whitley Bay 5,010 490 9.8 
			 llfracombe 1,290 120 9.6 
			 Worthing 4,860 420 8.7 
			 Exmouth 2,290 170 7.5 
			 Bognor Regis 3,860 280 7.1 
			 Sidmouth 850 60 6.6 
			 Swanage 460 20 4.8 
			 Burnham-on-Sea (18)— (18)— (18)— 
		
	
	(14) Includes middle schools as deemed.
	(15) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
	(16) Based upon postal town of schools with the exception of Isle of Wight and Torbay for which the respective local education authorities have been used.
	(17) Includes dually registered pupils and boarding pupils.
	(18) Not applicable, no schools of this type
	Source:
	Annual Schools' Census

Free School Meals

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) primary and (b) secondary school pupils were eligible for free school meals in 2002–03, broken down by region; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: holding answer 23 February 2004
	The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		Maintained primary and secondary schools(19) number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals(20) As at January 2003.By Local Education Authority area
		
			  All pupils(21) 
			  Primary Schools Secondary Schools 
			  Number on roll Number of pupils known to be eligible for free schools meals Percentage known to be eligible for free school meals Number on roll Number of pupils known to be eligible for free schools meals Percentage known to be eligible for free school meals 
		
		
			 England 4,309,780 727,630 16.9 3,308,490 478,920 14.5 
			
			 North East 226,230 50,420 22.3 180,390 32,670 18.1 
			 841 Darlington 9,050 1,670 18.5 6,310 1,030 16.2 
			 840 Durham 44,250 8,770 19.8 32,580 5,610 17.2 
			 390 Gateshead 17,230 3,980 23.1 11,880 2,310 19.5 
			 805 Hartlepool 9,720 2,280 23.5 6,720 1,490 22.2 
			 806 Middlesbrough 14,820 4,300 29.0 7,030 2,270 32.3 
			 391 Newcastle upon Tyne 20,030 6,450 32.2 17,810 4,210 23.7 
			 392 North Tyneside 17,190 3,380 19.7 13,840 2,100 15.1 
			 929 Northumberland 20,420 2,810 13.7 30,680 3,460 11.3 
			 807 Redcar and Cleveland 14,450 3,270 22.6 10,380 2,180 21.0 
			 393 South Tyneside 14,040 3,930 28.0 10,410 2,340 22.5 
			 808 Stockton-on-Tees 18,520 3,590 19.4 12,790 2,300 18.0 
			 394 Sunderland 26,510 6,000 22.6 19,970 3,380 16.9 
			
			 North West 629,440 130,710 20.8 470,930 88,610 18.8 
			 889 Blackburn with Darwen 15,060 3,760 25.0 9,560 2,420 25.3 
			 890 Blackpool 12,270 2,980 24.3 8,670 1,840 21.2 
			 350 Bolton 26,120 4,480 17.2 19,770 2,990 15.1 
			 351 Bury 16,830 2,300 13.6 11,940 1,690 14.2 
			 875 Cheshire 58,090 6,740 11.6 47,290 4,480 9.5 
			 909 Cumbria 42,360 5,810 13.7 34,610 3,940 11.4 
			 876 Halton 11,090 2,890 26.1 8,350 1,860 22.3 
			 340 Knowsley 17,110 5,780 33.8 10,280 4,010 39.0 
			 888 Lancashire 98,780 15,580 15.8 76,410 10,750 14.1 
			 341 Liverpool 41,300 14,450 35.0 33,750 10,720 31.8 
			 352 Manchester 41,690 18,180 43.6 24,070 10,090 41.9 
			 353 Oldham 23,660 5,480 23.1 16,780 3,610 21.5 
			 354 Rochdale 21,040 4,980 23.6 14,450 3,560 24.6 
			 355 Salford 21,150 6,050 28.6 12,700 3,150 24.8 
			 343 Sefton 25,120 4,650 18.5 21,280 3,770 17.7 
			 342 St. Helens 16,660 3,250 19.5 12,180 2,180 17.9 
			 356 Stockport 25,130 3,030 12.0 17,010 2,180 12.8 
			 357 Tameside 21,600 3,830 17.7 15,830 2,890 18.2 
			 358 Trafford 19,890 2,340 11.8 16,080 1,910 11.9 
			 877 Warrington 18,270 1,850 10.1 14,060 1,260 9.0 
			 359 Wigan 27,900 4,510 16.2 21,140 2,970 14.1 
			 344 Wirral 28,330 7,810 27.6 24,730 6,350 25.7 
			
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 466,730 81,680 17.5 347,630 55,580 16.0 
			 370 Barnsley 21,470 3,990 18.6 13,490 2,930 21.7 
			 380 Bradford 51,270 11,480 22.4 34,510 9,150 26.5 
			 381 Calderdale 19,700 3,260 16.5 15,330 2,160 14.1 
			 371 Doncaster 29,110 5,490 18.9 21,720 3,480 16.0 
			 811 East Riding of Yorkshire 27,200 2,630 9.7 23,350 1,790 7.6 
			 810 Kingston Upon Hull, City of 24,430 6,160 25.2 16,310 3,960 24.3 
			 382 Kirklees 36,810 6,490 17.6 26,790 4,570 17.1 
			 383 Leeds 65,360 12,210 18.7 47,780 8,080 16.9 
			 812 North East Lincolnshire 15,350 3,330 21.7 11,830 2,220 18.8 
			 813 North Lincolnshire 14,380 2,030 14.1 10,820 1,340 12.3 
			 815 North Yorkshire 47,120 3,910 8.3 41,640 2,390 5.7 
			 372 Rotherham 25,260 4,650 18.4 20,160 3,110 15.4 
			 373 Sheffield 44,740 9,110 20.4 31,360 6,080 19.4 
			 384 Wakefield 30,680 5,600 18.3 22,210 3,560 16.0 
			 816 York 13,860 1,340 9.6 10,370 780 7.6 
			
			 East Midlands 372,890 47,700 12.8 297,460 33,420 11.2 
			 831 Derby 22,350 4,400 19.7 15,260 2,750 18.0 
			 830 Derbyshire 66,290 8,130 12.3 49,650 4,940 9.9 
			 856 Leicester 29,150 7,150 24.5 18,250 4,100 22.5 
			 855 Leicestershire 50,300 3,650 7.3 46,370 2,680 5.8 
			 925 Lincolnshire 54,880 3,370 6.1 46,260 3,430 7.4 
			 928 Northamptonshire 53,990 4,960 9.2 50,700 4,950 9.8 
			 892 Nottingham 25,540 7,740 30.3 13,910 4,540 32.7 
			 891 Nottinghamshire 67,760 8,160 12.0 54,760 5,940 10.8 
			 857 Rutland 2,640 130 4.8 2,300 80 3.4 
			
			 West Midlands 487,700 90,150 18.5 378,640 60,320 15.9 
			 330 Birmingham 103,580 33,410 32.3 70,620 22,320 31.6 
			 331 Coventry 27,980 5,650 20.2 21,460 3,670 17.1 
			 332 Dudley 29,950 4,280 14.3 20,710 2,910 14.0 
			 884 Herefordshire 13,930 1,200 8.6 10,330 850 8.2 
			 333 Sandwell 31,410 7,110 22.6 19,780 4,490 22.7 
			 893 Shropshire 22,220 2,050 9.2 18,260 1,400 7.7 
			 334 Solihull 21,090 2,320 11.0 . 15,780 1,640 10.4 
			 860 Staffordshire 67,430 7,530 11.2 62,290 5,420 8.7 
			 861 Stoke-on-Trent 21,850 6,040 27.7 15,200 3,210 21.1 
			 894 Telford and Wrekin 16,030 3,350 20.9 10,500 2,000 19.1 
			 335 Walsall 27,020 4,750 17.6 21,820 3,370 15.4 
			 937 Warwickshire 41,920 4,050 9.7 33,920 2,400 7.1 
			 336 Wolverhampton 24,230 5,020 20.7 16,870 3,310 19.6 
			 885 Worcestershire 39,040 3,410 8.7 41,110 3,340 8.1 
			
			 East of England 454,950 53,690 11.8 383,910 36,720 9.6 
			 820 Bedfordshire 25,340 2,740 10.8 37,650 3,650 9.7 
			 873 Cambridgeshire 44,650 3,840 8.6 32,140 2,470 7.7 
			 881 Essex 111,150 12,390 11.1 89,500 7,990 8.9 
			 919 Hertfordshire 95,910 8,390 8.7 78,350 5,120 6.5 
			 821 Luton 18,910 4,360 23.0 12,450 3,090 24.8 
			 926 Norfolk 67,370 8,990 13.3 46,120 4,410 9.6 
			 874 Peterborough 15,560 3,100 19.9 12,970 2,030 15.6 
			 882 Southend-on-Sea 14,730 2,610 17.7 12,020 1,350 11.2 
			 935 Suffolk 47,250 5,170 11.0 54,220 5,440 10.0 
			
			 London 632,950 163,370 25.8 417,940 100,470 24.0 
			 Inner London 231,730 86,920 37.5 127,690 50,370 39.4 
			 202 Camden 11,430 4,880 42.7 9,600 2,860 29.8 
			 201 City of London 220 70 30.6 (22)– (22)– (22)– 
			 204 Hackney 18,090 7,430 41.1 7,910 3,300 41.7 
			 205 Hammersmith and Fulham 9,690 4,200 43.4 7,300 2,390 32.8 
			 309 Haringey 22,030 7,450 33.8 10,890 4,090 37.6 
			 206 Islington 15,100 6,090 40.3 7,780 3,340 42.9 
			 207 Kensington and Chelsea 7,020 2,660 37.9 3,540 1,000 28.2 
			 208 Lambeth 19,990 7,470 37.4 7,400 2,710 36.7 
			 209 Lewisham 22,620 6,420 28.4 11,620 3,440 29.6 
			 316 Newham 31,530 10,760 34.1 18,110 7,810 43.1 
			 210 Southwark 23,820 8,610 36.1 10,820 5,080 46.9 
			 211 Tower Hamlets 22,060 11,780 53.4 14,340 8,890 62.0 
			 212 Wandsworth 17,440 4,950 28.4 10,090 2,590 25.7 
			 213 Westminster 10,700 4,170 38.9 8,300 2,880 34.6 
			
			 Outer London 401,210 76,450 19.1 290,250 50,100 17.3 
			 301 Barking and Dagenham 18,640 4,300 23.1 11,670 2,820 24.2 
			 302 Barnet 25,950 4,700 18.1 21,050 3,150 14.9 
			 303 Bexley 21,680 2,870 13.2 17,700 1,710 9.7 
			 304 Brent 22,850 6,210 27.2 16,280 3,750 23.0 
			 305 Bromley 24,470 3,280 13.4 21,840 2,380 10.9 
			 306 Croydon 30,720 6,610 21.5 18,400 3,450 18.8 
			 307 Ealing 26,320 6,420 24.4 15,590 4,580 29.4 
			 308 Enfield 27,030 6,310 23.4 21,120 4,070 19.3 
			 203 Greenwich 20,680 7,320 35.4 13,550 3,950 29.1 
			 310 Harrow 19,550 2,840 14.5 8,980 1,590 17.7 
			 311 Havering 20,480 2,350 11.5 16,340 1,630 10.0 
			 312 Hillingdon 24,530 3,700 15.1 17,420 2,640 15.1 
			 313 Hounslow 19,150 4,190 21.9 16,500 3,120 18.9 
			 314 Kingston upon Thames 11,710 860 7.4 9,090 800 8.8 
			 315 Merton 14,490 1,980 13.6 8,560 1,380 16.2 
			 317 Redbridge 23,820 3,810 16.0 19,710 2,850 14.5 
			 318 Richmond upon Thames 12,430 1,210 9.7 7,390 1,200 16.2 
			 319 Sutton 15,400 1,920 12.5 15,400 1,230 8.0 
			 320 Waltham Forest 21,330 5,580 26.1 13,690 3,820 27.9 
			
			 South East 645,590 65,790 10.2 507,310 42,410 8.4 
			 867 Bracknell Forest 8,990 580 6.5 5,990 330 5.5 
			 846 Brighton and Hove 17,580 3,090 17.6 12,470 2,000 16.1 
			 825 Buckinghamshire 40,490 2,200 5.4 34,220 2,150 6.3 
			 845 East Sussex 37,760 5,140 13.6 28,610 3,210 11.2 
			 850 Hampshire 100,760 8,650 8.6 72,610 4,550 6.3 
			 921 Isle of Wight 7,270 1,310 18.1 12,060 1,930 16.0 
			 886 Kent 113,760 14,010 12.3 96,740 8,380 8.7 
			 887 Medway 23,960 2,910 12.2 20,490 1,950 9.5 
			 826 Milton Keynes 22,520 2,680 11.9 12,480 1,330 10.7 
			 931 Oxfordshire 45,250 3,990 8.8 38,600 3,310 8.6 
			 851 Portsmouth 15,100 2,560 16.9 10,200 1,520 14.9 
			 870 Reading 10,260 1,620 15.8 6,290 750 12.0 
			 871 Slough 11,350 1,840 16.2 8,160 1,190 14.5 
			 852 Southampton 17,140 3,730 21.7 12,150 2,020 16.6 
			 936 Surrey 79,700 5,930 7.4 58,520 3,390 5.8 
			 869 West Berkshire 12,240 830 6.8 11,940 520 4.3 
			 938 West Sussex 60,470 3,680 6.1 44,500 2,830 6.4 
			 868 Windsor and Maidenhead 8,410 580 6.9 10,360 520 5.0 
			 872 Wokingham 12,620 480 3.8 10,930 520 4.8 
			
			 South West 393,320 44,130 11.2 324,290 28,720 8.9 
			 800 Bath and North East Somerset 12,670 1,210 9.5 12,360 820 6.7 
			 837 Bournemouth 11,150 1,150 10.4 9,960 1,000 10.0 
			 801 Bristol, City of 30,690 7,130 23.2 17,830 3,490 19.6 
			 908 Cornwall 40,860 4,650 11.4 32,760 3,540 10.8 
			 878 Devon 55,680 6,220 11.2 41,700 3,590 8.6 
			 835 Dorset 25,090 1,380 5.5 30,240 2,010 6.6 
			 916 Gloucestershire 45,320 4,370 9.6 39,870 2,670 6.7 
			 420 Isles of Stilly 270 0 0.0 (22)– (22)– (22)– 
			 802 North Somerset 14,920 1,580 10.6 12,780 980 7.7 
			 879 Plymouth 20,430 3,770 18.5 19,010 2,280 12.0 
			 836 Poole 10,900 600 5.5 8,560 480 5.5 
			 933 Somerset 38,390 3,630 9.4 32,740 2,710 8.3 
			 803 South Gloucestershire 23,330 1,770 7.6 16,870 1,160 6.9 
			 866 Swindon 17,350 2,070 11.9 11,590 1,050 9.1 
			 880 Torbay 10,330 1,850 17.9 9,020 1,250 13.9 
			 865 Wiltshire 35,960 2,770 7.7 28,990 1,710 5.9 
		
	
	(19) Includes middle schools as deemed.
	(20) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. There may be discrepancies between the sum of constituent items
	and totals as shown.
	(21) Includes dually registered pupils and boarding pupils.
	(22) Not applicable, no schools of this type
	Source
	Annual Schools' Census

Homeless Young People

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what arrangements are made for the continuation of social services support for a young person who has been refused a home by his or her family and has not been made ward of court, once he or she becomes 16 years old.

Margaret Hodge: Local authority social service departments have a range of powers and duties under the Children Act 1989 to provide services for children in need in their area.
	A general duty is placed on local authorities by section 17 of the Children Act 1989 to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in their area who are in need by providing a range of services appropriate to those needs. The definition of a child in need is set out in section 17(10) of the Act, which applies to all children, regardless of whether or not they reside with their family.
	There is also a duty under section 20 of the Children Act to provided accommodation for children in need if necessary.

Jenny Gray

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to his answer of 30 January 2004, Official Report, columns 579–80W, under which section of the Code of Practice on Access to Information he declined to provide the information requested; and whether Jenny Gray is a full-time employee of his Department.

Charles Clarke: holding answer 6 February 2004
	I refer the hon. Member to exemption 12 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. In line with this exemption, it is not our policy to disclose information on individual civil servants that may constitute or could facilitate an invasion of privacy.

Learning and Skills Councils

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what instruction he gives learning and skills councils on the extent of their written communications with hon. Members.

Alan Johnson: As an executive Non Departmental Public Body, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) comes within the remit of "The Code of Practice on /Access to Government Information". This includes a requirement to answer requests for information, and to provide full facts and analysis of major policy proposals.
	As part of the Management Statement agreed with my Department, the LSC is required to answer correspondence and questions of an operational nature from hon. Members. We are also keen for the LSC to engage with hon. Members on major issues affecting post-16 learning within their constituencies.

Medical Students

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he is taking to provide additional places for UK students wishing to train as a medical practitioner; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Johnson: The Higher Education Funding Council for England allocated, between 1999 and 2001, a total of 2,145 additional medical school places to higher education institutions. Eligible medical students have their fees paid by the NHS for the fifth and, where there is one, sixth years of their courses and receive a means-tested NHS Bursary of up to £2703 (in London) in those years. In addition, they may receive a maintenance loan under the student support regulations.

Parliamentary Questions

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many days on average his Department took in Session 2002–03 to give a substantive answer to a Parliamentary Question for ordinary written answer; and what the greatest number of days taken to answer such a question was.

Charles Clarke: At present, our records system does not allow us to retrieve the information requested without incurring disproportionate cost.

School Capital Investment

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent on new capital investments in each school in the City of Newcastle upon Tyne including private finance initiative projects in each year since 1997–98; and what type of project it was in each case.

David Miliband: The majority of capital support is allocated to schools and local education authorities (LEAs) by formula, and they decide how to invest it in line with their asset management plans. The Department does not, therefore, have complete information about all the capital investments in each school; this should be held locally. The following table sets out the capital support made by this Government to Newcastle upon Tyne LEA since 1997–98, in total and by programme, including devolved formula capital grants to each school.
	We have also allocated indicative funding for future years worth approximately £70 million in 2004–05 (this includes £60 million of PFI credits) and £5 million in 2005–06. Additionally we have just announced that Newcastle LEA will be part of the first wave of Building Schools for the Future commencing in 2005–06. We will be working with the LEA over the coming months to confirm details and funding of their plans.
	
		Capital allocations for Newcastle upon Tyne LEA -- £000
		
			 Newcastle upon Tyne LEA capital allocations 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 
		
		
			 Assistance with Asset Management Plans — — 33 — — — — 
			 Formulaic funding for VA schools — — — — 45 262 340 
			 Basic Need 407 451 896 644 241 79 181 
			 City Learning Centres — — — — 1200 — — 
			 Class Size initiative — 367 70 80 342 — — 
			 Condition — — — — 1955 3058 3907 
			 Devolved Formula — — — 1787 1434 2173 3351 
			 Energy — 70 — — — — — 
			 Modernisation — — — — — 1346 2533 
			 New Deal for Schools (NDS) 1 487 — — — — —  
			 NDS2 — 4612 — — — — — 
			 NDS 3 — — 6318 — — — — 
			 NDS 4 — — — 3300 — — — 
			 Nursery Provision — — — 65 — — — 
			 Private Finance Initiative — — — — 47100 — — 
			 School Labs — — — 170 170 — — 
			 School Security 68 84 85 84 57 49 — 
			 Schools Access Initiative 30 70 100 139 220 355 519 
			 Seed Challenge — — — 172 193 321 318 
			 Specialist Schools — — — 300 — — — 
			 Staff Workspace — — — — — 68 135 
			 Supplementary Credit Approvals 1185 1394 605 — 353 — — 
			 Targeted Capital Funding — — — — 430 — — 
			 Targeted Capital Funding—VA — — — — —  4996 
			 Voluntary Aided School Grant 837 702 237 328 1216 653 — 
			 Total 3014 7750 8344 7069 54956 8364 16280

Specialist Schools

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills in which year each (a) language college and (b) specialist school achieved specialist status; how many and what percentage of pupils at each obtained five A*-C GCSEs in each year since two years before it achieved specialist status; and how many language (i) GCSEs at A*-C grade and (ii) A-levels were obtained at each in each year since two years before it achieved specialist status.

David Miliband: holding answer 23 February 2004
	The information requested has been placed in the Library.
	The list below shows the year in which each specialist school, including Language Colleges (a specialism which has existed since 1995), achieved specialist status. The list also shows how many and what percentage of pupils at each school obtained five A*-C grades at GCSE in each year from two years before it achieved specialist status.
	The information requested regarding language GCSEs and A-Levels is not published at school level. To collate this information would involve disproportionate costs.

Specialist Schools

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills in which year since 1992 each specialist school was established as such; in which year each of those schools which ceased to have specialist status did so; and what the value is of (a) capital grants and (b) revenue funding to each school consequent upon its specialist status since its establishment.

David Miliband: holding answer 23 February 2004
	The following table shows the number of schools designated, re-designated, or de-designated as specialist schools, by specialism, for each of the years since the programme began in 1994. Funding information is not readily available at school level for each of these years. However, the table shows the overall level of capital grants and recurrent funding for each year.
	Designated specialist schools receive a one-off £100,000 capital grant and £126 per pupil per annum for four years. At current rates, a typical specialist school of 1,000 pupils would receive £100,000 capital funding and £504,000 revenue funding over a four-year phase.
	
		Number of specialist school designations, de-designations and re-designations(23)by year
		
			  1994–95 1995–96 
			 Specialism Designated De-designated Re-designated Designated De-designated Re-designated 
		
		
			 Arts — — — — — — 
			 Business and enterprise — — — — — — 
			 Engineering — — — — — — 
			 Language — — — 6 — — 
			 Mathematics and computing — — — — — — 
			 Science — — — — — — 
			 Sport — — — — — — 
			 Technology 49 — — 52 — — 
			 Combined — — — — — — 
			 Totals 49 0 0 58 0 0 
			 Year total 49 58 
			 Cumulative 49 107 
		
	
	
		
			1996–97   1997–98 
			 Specialism Designated De-designated Re-designated Designated De-designated Re-designated 
		
		
			 Arts — — — 6 — — 
			 Business and enterprise — — — — — — 
			 Engineering — — — — — — 
			 Language 25 — — 19 — — 
			 Mathematics and computing — — — — — — 
			 Science — — — — — — 
			 Sport — — — 11 — — 
			 Technology 50 — — 41 2 — 
			 Combined — — — — — — 
			 Totals 75 0 0 77 2 0 
			 Year total 75 75 
			 Cumulative 182 257 
		
	
	
		
			1998–99   1999–2000 
			 Specialism Designated De-designated Re-designated Designated De-designated Re-designated 
		
		
			 Arts 11 — — 12 — — 
			 Business and enterprise — — — — — — 
			 Engineering — — — — — — 
			 Language 11 — — 15 1 — 
			 Mathematics and computing — — — — — — 
			 Science — — — — — — 
			 Sport 15 — — 11 — — 
			 Technology 46 13 — 42 4 1 
			 Combined — — — — — — 
			 Totals 83 13 0 80 5 1 
			 Year total 70 76 
			 Cumulative 327 403 
		
	
	
		
			2000–01   2001–02 
			 Specialism Designated De-designated Re-designated Designated De-designated Re-designated 
		
		
			 Arts 28 — — 34 — — 
			 Business and enterprise — — — — — — 
			 Engineering — — — — — — 
			 Language 28 — — 27 — — 
			 Mathematics and computing — — — — — — 
			 Science — — — — — — 
			 Sport 30 — — 34 — — 
			 Technology 51 5 2 56 4 2 
			 Combined — — — — — — 
			 Totals 137 5 2 151 4 2 
			 Year total 134 149 
			 Cumulative 537 686 
		
	
	
		
			  2002–03 2003–04 
			 Specialism Designated De-designated Re-designated Designated De-designated Re-designated Total 
		
		
			 Arts 82 — — 57 3 — 233 
			 Business and enterprise 18 — — 64 — — 82 
			 Engineering 4 — — 10 — — 14 
			 Language 31 — — 32 1 — 196 
			 Mathematics and computing 12 — — 64 — — 76 
			 Science 24 — — 97 — — 121 
			 Sport 60 — — 68 1 — 230 
			 Technology 78 2 1 59 4 — 564 
			 Combined — — — 10 — — 10 
			 Totals 309 2 1 461 9 0 1,526 
			 Year total 308 452 1,446 
			 Cumulative 994 1,446 
		
	
	(23) The term re-designation is used here to indicate a school which was de-designated but subsequently regained specialist status.
	Note:
	The first specialist schools became operational in September 1994 under the technology specialism. Further specialisms have since been added with the first language colleges becoming operational in September 1995 followed by sports and arts colleges in September 1997. The first business and enterprise, science, maths and computing and engineering colleges became operational in September 2002. The first music and humanities colleges were designated in January 2004 but do not become operational until September 2004.
	
		Funding (calculated by financial year) -- £ million
		
			  Capital Revenue Total 
		
		
			 1994–95 5.0 3.0 8.0 
			 1995–96 7.0 9.0 16.0 
			 1996–97 7.0 16.0 23.0 
			 1997–98 7.5 25.6 33.1 
			 1998–99 8.0 32.8 40.8 
			 1999–2000 7.6 42.2 49.8 
			 2000–01 13.2 58.7 71.9 
			 2001–02 15.4 78.6 94.0 
			 2002–03 30.8 114.4 145.2 
			 2003–04 56.0 193.0 249.0 
			 Total 158 573 731

Statutory Sick Pay

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people employed in his Department have claimed statutory sick pay for (a) less than one week, (b) one to three weeks, (c) four to six weeks, (d) seven to 12 weeks, (e) 13 to 20 weeks and (f) 21 to 28 weeks in each year since 1997.

Charles Clarke: The numbers of staff in my Department who have claimed statutory sick pay during the years 2000 to 2003 are as follows. The numbers include DfES staff working in the Government office regions. No records are held for the years prior to this.
	
		
			  2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Less than one week 598 667 692 694 
			 One to three weeks 448 424 458 481 
			 Four to six weeks 100 128 156 139 
			 Seven to 12 weeks 93 121 131 120 
			 13 to 20 weeks 65 82 111 98 
			 21 to 28 weeks 41 64 84 53 
			 Total 1,345 1,486 1,632 1,585

Student Finance

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of graduates in receipt of income contingent student loans who will take career breaks to bring up children; and what assumptions about the consequent subsidy costs have been included in the Government's overall estimates for student loan subsidy provisions.

Alan Johnson: Our estimates of the cost of subsidising both maintenance and fee loans in 2006–07 terms were published in the Regulatory Impact Assessment associated with the HE Bill. The economic cost of providing student loans is made up of the interest rate subsidy on loans together with the cost of any loans that are never repaid (e.g. due to death, permanent disability or loans being written-off after 25 years). Modelling this cost requires taking into account a great number of factors. Important factors include:
	(i) The number of students in Higher Education;
	(ii) The parental income of those students (or their own income if independent);
	(iii) The proportions of students studying in London, at home or elsewhere;
	(iv) The propensity of students to take out each loan;
	(v) The distribution of fees actually charged by Higher Education institutions from 2006–7;
	(vi) The distribution of lengths of courses (based on internal modelling);
	(vii) The pattern of withdrawals from HE courses (based on internal modelling);
	(viii) The earnings profiles of graduates; and
	(ix) Macroeconomic conditions.
	In relation to factor (vii), the modelling of the cost of providing student loans uses Labour Force Survey (LFS) data to inform the probability of borrowers being in employment, unemployment, or economically inactive. We have used the LFS data to take account of those people who take career breaks—to raise children or for other reasons. The impact of those who take career breaks to raise children is thus reflected in the modelling but it is not possible to estimate how many borrowers will take career breaks for this reason—or to estimate the cost associated with this factor—in isolation.

Student Finance

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what financial assumptions were made in calculating the provision of £25 million to cover the cost of writing off outstanding student loans after 25 years.

Alan Johnson: Our estimates of the cost of subsidising both maintenance and fee loans in 2006–07 terms were published in the Regulatory Impact Assessment associated with the HE Bill. The economic cost of providing student loans is made up of the interest rate subsidy on loans together with the cost of any loans that are never repaid (e.g. due to death, permanent disability or loans being written-off after 25 years). Modelling this cost requires taking into account a great number of factors. Important factors include:
	(i) The number of students in Higher Education;
	(ii) The parental income of those students (or their own income if independent);
	(iii) The proportions of students studying in London, at home or elsewhere;
	(iv) The propensity of students to take out each loan;
	(v) The distribution of fees actually charged by Higher Education institutions from 2006–7;
	(vi) The distribution of lengths of courses (based on internal modelling);
	(vii) The pattern of withdrawals from HE courses (based on internal modelling);
	(viii) The earnings profiles of graduates; and
	(ix) Macroeconomic conditions.
	The Regulatory Impact Assessment estimated the cost of writing-off loans at 25 years at £30 million. This is the extra economic cost of not collecting any repayments that would have been made on loans older than 25 years.

Temporary Mobile Classrooms

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in each London borough make use of temporary mobile classroom accommodation; and what the timetable for replacement of this accommodation is in each borough.

David Miliband: holding answer 23 February 2004
	The following table shows the number of schools with temporary classrooms in each London borough. It is based on data provided to the Department in May 2002, by local education authorities as part of the asset management planning process.
	The bulk of schools' capital is now allocated by formula to authorities and schools so that they can address their local priorities, including the replacement of temporary accommodation in poor condition. Prioritisation of need is through asset management planning and on an open and rigorous consultative process, based on the needs of all schools. The Department does not collect detailed information on investment plans or timetables of authorities.
	
		Numbers of schools in London boroughs with temporary building
		
			 LEA Number of schools with temporary buildings 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 7 
			 Barnet — 
			 Bexley 56 
			 Brent 36 
			 Bromley 16 
			 Camden 0 
			 City of London — 
			 Croydon 60 
			 Ealing 54 
			 Enfield — 
			 Greenwich — 
			 Hackney 10 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 0 
			 Haringey 21 
			 Harrow 58 
			 Havering 1 
			 Hillingdon 44 
			 Hounslow 40 
			 Islington 9 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 3 
			 Kingston upon Thames 0 
			 Lambeth 28 
			 Lewisham 22 
			 Merton 3 
			 Newham 46 
			 Redbridge 0 
			 Richmond upon Thames 12 
			 Southwark 8 
			 Sutton 44 
			 Tower Hamlets 9 
			 Waltham Forest 11 
			 Wandsworth 9 
			 Westminster 0 
		
	
	Where no figures are shown, either no data have been supplied by LEAs, or there are clearly significant data anomalies.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Bankruptcies

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many individuals in the East Riding of Yorkshire were declared bankrupt in each of the past five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Bankruptcy figures are only available on the basis of the Official Receivers Office dealing with the cases, therefore it is not possible to separate bankruptcies pertaining to the East Riding of Yorkshire exactly. The following table gives annual figures for the number of individual bankruptcies dealt with by the Official Receivers Office in Hull, which covers the county courts of Beverley, Great Grimsby, Grimsby, Hull, Kingston-upon-Hull, Malton, Scarborough, Scunthorpe, Whitby and York. The Hull Office covers the majority of the East Riding of Yorkshire but also includes a number of county courts from neighbouring counties/unitary authorities. A small part of the East Riding of Yorkshire (the county court of Goole) is administered by the Official Receivers Office at Sheffield.
	
		Individual Bankruptcies Registered at the Official Receivers Office in Hull 1999–2003
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 1999 690 
			 2000 796 
			 2001 907 
			 2002 926 
			 2003 906

Bankruptcies

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) personal and (b) corporate bankruptcies there were in East Devon in each of the past seven years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Insolvency figures are only available on the basis of the Official Receivers Office dealing with the cases, therefore it is not possible to identify precisely insolvencies in East Devon. Company insolvencies are made up of Company Compulsory Liquidations and Creditors Voluntary Liquidations of which only Company Compulsory Liquidations are available on an Official Receivers Office basis. The following table gives annual figures for the number of individual bankruptcies and company compulsory liquidations dealt with by the Official Receivers Office in Exeter, which covers the county courts of Barnstaple, Exeter, Newton Abbott, Shaftsbury, Torquay and Yeovil.
	
		Individual bankruptcies and company compulsory liquidations registered at the Official Receivers Office in Exeter
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Individual insolvencies 494 628 761 566 795 919 902 
			 Company compulsory liquidations 46 51 56 43 38 64 33

Bankruptcies

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) personal and (b) company bankruptcies in (i) Greater London and (ii) each London borough there were in each of the last three years for which figures are available; what assessment she has made of recent trends; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 23 February 2004
	Insolvency figures are only available on the basis of the Official Receivers Office dealing with the cases, therefore it is not possible to identify precisely insolvencies in Greater London or in individual boroughs. Company insolvencies are made up of Company Compulsory Liquidations and Creditors Voluntary Liquidations of which only Company Compulsory Liquidations are available on an Official Receivers Office basis. The following table gives annual figures for the number of individual Bankruptcies and Company Compulsory Liquidations dealt with by the Official Receivers Office in London, which covers the county courts of Barnet, Bloomsbury and Marylebone, Bow, Brentford, Chingford, Clerkenwell, Edmonton, Lambeth, Marylebone, Bloomsbury, Mayor's and City of London, Shoreditch, Wandsworth, West London, Westminster and Willesden.
	
		Individual Bankruptcies and Company Compulsory Liquidations Registered at the Official Receivers Office in London
		
			  2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Individual Bankruptcies 1,427 1,457 1,933 
			 Company Compulsory Liquidations 911 1,147 864

Broadband

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people in London have access to (a) broadband internet via satellite service and (b) average variable cost broadband; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 23 February 2004
	Broadband internet access via satellite is available to the vast majority of households across the UK, including in London. Terrestrial broadband internet access services, such as ADSL and cable modem, which are generally available at less than £30 per month, are available to 85 per cent. of households in the UK including the vast majority of households in the London area.

Business Link

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 2 February 2004, Official Report, column 642W, on Business Link, when her Department will publish the gross value-added measure for Business Link operators.

Win Griffiths: Initial Gross Value Added (GVA) data, covering the period April to June 2004, will be available from July 2004.

Business Link

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 2 February 2004, Official Report, column 642W, on Business Link, how many studies have been commissioned; what their titles are; and when they were published.

Stephen Timms: Since the introduction of Business Link there have been 17 studies which are available from the Small Business Service Analytical Unit (0114–279–4442):
	KPMG Evaluation of Business Links: Final Report (1994)
	MORI Business Links: the business advice market among small and medium sized enterprises (1994)
	MORI Business Links (Wave 2): the business advice market among small and medium sized enterprises (March 1995)
	MORI Business Links (Wave 3): Business advice among SME and the 'Business Link' campaign. (Sept, 1995)
	MORI Business Links (Wave 4): Business advice among SME and the 'Business Link' campaign (April, 1996)
	MORI Business Links (Wave 4): Business advice among SME and the 'Business Link' campaign (Sept, 1997)
	Business Planning and Research International Mystery Enquirer Programme 1995–96. (1997)
	Ernst and Young Evaluation of Business Links (1996)
	Ernst and Young Business Link Follow-up study (1997)
	Kingston Business School The Business Link Tracker Study, Published at 24th ISBA
	Small Firms Policy and Research Conference proceedings (ISBN 9000862 45X)
	Public and Corporate Economic Consultants Business Link—Value for Money Evaluation (1999)
	ECOTEC Evaluation of Innovative Business Support Projects (1999) York Consulting Ltd Early Assessment of Centres of Expertise (2000)
	CEEDR/Data Build Evaluation of High Growth Start up Programme (2002), Published at 25th ISBA Small Firms Policy and Research Conference proceedings (ISBN 1 901177 03 3) (2002)
	Business Support Needs Study (June 2001)
	Mystery Enquirer study of Business Link National Contact Centre (April 2002)
	Mystery Enquirer study of Business Link Website (April 2002)

Correspondence

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when she will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Totnes of 9 December 2003 concerning Mr.Trevor Sams of Totnes and business practices on the Internet.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 23 February 2004
	My Department has no record of receiving your letter of 9 December. We now have a copy, and I will ensure you receive a response in due course.

Departmental Functions (Beer)

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her Department's policy is on the serving of beer at official functions.

Patricia Hewitt: The decision whether to serve beer at official functions is made on an event by event basis depending upon the purpose, nature and format of the function.

EU (High Level Group)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list outstanding European Union issues due to come to the High Level Group under the International Accountancy Standards Board; what the United Kingdom position on each issue is; and what the membership of the High Level Group is.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The high level European consultative group set up to advise the International Accounting Standards Board will be made up of senior officials from European banking, securities and insurance regulators and from the accounting, banking and insurance industries. The European Commission will be an observer on the group. The group will focus specifically on certain basic issues related to the application of accounting standards to financial institutions. Copies of the press notice announcing the group have been deposited and are available for reference in the Libraries of the House.
	The Government take no position on the individual technical issues but do believe that it is important for a complete package of accounting standards to be available to companies as soon as possible in view of the move to International Accounting Standards from 2005.

Fireworks

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many illegal fireworks were seized in (a) 2003 and (b) the past five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 23 February 2004
	The question is taken to refer to three areas where fireworks could be illegal, those are: (a) fireworks seized that do not comply with the British Standards (BS 7114); (b) those seized at port by Customs and Excise; and, (c) those found to be illegally stored (in unregistered premises).
	With regard to (a), such information is not centrally available from Trading Standards Departments.
	With regard to (b), Customs and Excise have seized the amounts set out in the following table. The figures provided are for a three year period—as information prior to April 2000 is not available.
	
		
			  Individual fireworks Boxes of fireworks 
		
		
			 April 2000 to March 2001 2,681 8 
			 April 2001 to March 2002 142 5 
			 April 2002 to March 2003 702 27 
			 March 2003 to December 2003 17,872 24 
		
	
	The large number of fireworks seized last year can be put down to a single seizure of approx 3.5 tons (17.4000 individual fireworks) which were detected upon entry into the UK.
	The figures compiled by Customs and Excise also include flares.
	Finally, with regard to (c), I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 10 November 2003, Official Report, column 146W.

Grocery Market

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment the Office of Fair Trading has made of the potential impact of encroachment by multiple stores into the convenience sector of the grocery market on (a) sustainability of the industry and (b) the independent retailers and small groups within it.

Gerry Sutcliffe: These are matters for the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) as an independent competition authority. I have asked the OFT to respond to you directly on the points raised.

Ministerial Speeches

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many speeches she made between 9 June 2003 and 1 February 2004; and where a copy of each speech can be obtained.

Patricia Hewitt: I have spoken, in my Ministerial capacity, at a number of events during this period and my keynote speeches are available on the DTI website.

National Minimum Wage

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what research her Department has commissioned since 1998–99 to assess the impact of the National Minimum Wage on 16 to 17-year-olds participating in Government-supported training; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 23 February 2004
	Work on the position of 16 to 17-year-old workers, including those on Government-supported training, is taking place in two strands. First, the Government asked the independent Low Pay Commission in spring 2003 to consider the case for introducing a minimum wage rate for 16 to 17-year-old workers. I understand that the Commission have commissioned research and consulted widely on this issue. A copy of the Government's evidence to the Commission can be found at www.dti.gov.uk/er/nmw. We expect to receive the Commission's report by the end of this month and then to publish it, with the Government's response, around the middle of March.
	The Government have also been conducting a wider review which is looking at the financial incentives for young people to participate in education and training and the system of financial support for young people. We expect this review to report in the spring.

Offshore Oil and Gas Facilities

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what arrangements are in place to enforce the provisions of the EU Social Chapter throughout the supply chain in construction projects for Britain's offshore oil and gas industries; and what the relationship is between these obligations and her Department's licensing regime.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The statutory employment rights provided by the Directives which the Government have implemented under the Social Chapter since 1997 extend to all those working in the United Kingdom in these industries.
	Implementation of Directives under the EU Social Chapter does not impact the administration of the licensing regime under the Petroleum Act 1998.

Qualifications

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the balance between the supply of (a) high, (b) intermediate and (c) lower level qualifications in the workforce and employers' requirements for qualifications across the UK.

Patricia Hewitt: The evidence gathered to inform the National Skills Strategy highlighted the fact that 56.9 per cent. of the UK workforce have lower level qualifications, 27.7 per cent. intermediate and 15.4 per cent. higher level.
	Understanding employers demand for skills and qualifications and encouraging effective deployment of skills in the workplace are key to my Department's agenda. I will continue to work with the Sectors Skills Development Agency and the Skills for Business Network to ensure that employers have the skills they require both now and in the future.

Scientists (Productivity)

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on levels of productivity amongst scientists in the UK.

Patricia Hewitt: A recent international benchmarking study commissioned by my Department confirmed that in addition to the high quality of UK science and UK scientists are highly productive. On widely accepted measures of scientific productivity UK leads the G8 in terms of both papers published and citations acquired per researcher in international scientific journals.

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many small and medium- sized enterprises she estimates have started business in each of the last 10 years; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: Value added tax (VAT) registrations are the best official guide to the pattern of business start-ups. These cover businesses of all sizes. Large changes in the level of the VAT threshold mean that data before 1994 is unavailable on a consistent basis with the current series.
	The number of businesses registering for VAT in each calendar year from 1994 to 2002 in the UK is as follows:
	
		
			  VAT registrations in the UK 
		
		
			 1994 170,000 
			 1995 165,810 
			 1996 171,005 
			 1997 187,690 
			 1998 187,515 
			 1999 181,370 
			 2000 184,035 
			 2001 174,620 
			 2002 175,800 
		
	
	Source:
	Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994–2002, Small Business Service
	While the number of new VAT registrations peaked in 1997 there were still more registrations in each year from 1997 to 2002 than in any of the three years proceeding this period. The reason why VAT registrations have fallen since 1997 is not clear. Many factors influence the number of new VAT registrations. These include global economic conditions and attractiveness of salaried employment compared with self-employment. A stable economy with low interest rates, coupled with a range of government initiatives to help start-ups, has assisted the net growth of business in the UK—at the start of 2003 there were 117,000 more VAT registered businesses than at the start of 1997.

University Science Funding

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on (a) current and (b) future funding levels for university scientists in the UK.

Patricia Hewitt: The Government has invested heavily in the science and engineering base, of which the research conducted in universities forms the larger part. In the current spending review period the science budget is growing at 10 per cent. year-on-year in real terms, building on the average 7 per cent. growth over the previous spending review period, and reaching just short of £3 billion by 2005–06. The recent announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer of his intention to develop a 10-year investment framework for science and investment, to be announced at the time of the next spending review settlement, signals the Government's continuing long-term commitment to science.
	Further details of current and future funding levels by Government Departments and Research Councils are set out in 'The Forward Look 2003 Government funded science, engineering and technology', copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

Working Time Directive

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the potential cost of prohibiting employees from working longer than an average 48 hours per week to (a) small businesses and (b) the UK economy as a whole.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Employers are likely to respond in a variety of ways if legislation were passed to prevent employees from working longer than 48 hours on average. Firstly employers may absorb the curtailment in working hours either through reducing output or realising productivity gains through changed work arrangements. Alternatively, employers may replace in whole or part the lost hours by recruiting more staff or asking existing staff to work longer hours (while remaining below 48 on average).
	The extent to which employers do not compensate employees for lost hours and reductions in overtime pay would partly offset employers' costs in replacing lost long hours worked. This makes any precise estimate of the cost of prohibiting employees working longer hours difficult.
	However, DTI estimate that if one quarter of the hours worked over 48 per week were replaced by employers at extra cost then the value of those hours would be around £3 billion per annum. If three-quarters of long hours worked were replaced at extra cost then the value of these hours is estimated at around £9 billion per annum.
	Estimates for small businesses are not available.